The Swan and the Witch
by Moonlit-Ramblings
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen
1. Chapter 1

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

A/N: I know this has been done before, but I couldn't help but write my own. I hope it doesn't suck, first attempt at Swan Queen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-/-

Chapter One

Everyone knows the story of the Beast. A fearsome beast was trapped in a castle, deep in the forbidden woods because of a cruel temperament and unforgiving nature. Once a fair ruler who fell into violent and unjust ways only to be caged by the wise fairy who showed the ruler for who they truly were, cursing them to such a form until they could find someone to love and who loved them in return. The castle and its inhabitants imprisoned until such a love could grow and free them.

But the story isn't just about them. This is also the story of a woman, one who had no idea her story would ever be of any importance.

Nevertheless, once upon a time, a baby girl was left on the steps of an orphanage. It was a perfectly ordinary baby, but she would grow into an extraordinary woman. She was not an innocent and naïve young girl, as they so often are in these stories, for she had to grow up quickly due to her hard life. She knew what it was like to be hungry and cold, although not to starve or freeze. She knew what it was like not to have a permanent home, though she never left her city. She learned not to trust others easily and to rely on herself, but she was afforded just enough kindness to leave herself open to happiness. That is what saved her, and all of them, in the end.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The bell rang in a small shop as a young blonde woman entered.

"Emma!" the elderly clerk cried happily.

"Good morning!" the twenty-year-old replied with a kind smile for the man. "Got anything new?" She was already running her hand along a shelf crammed with books.

Geppetto shook his head, "Sorry, none since yesterday when you last came by."

Emma sighed, "Darn, I was really hoping…oh well. I'll just take," her hand hover over a few before she grinned triumphantly, "_this_ one then."

"But you've already read that one at least two times!" he protested with a laugh.

Emma smiled sheepishly, "But it's one of my favorites. Far off places, dashing sword fights, mystery, traitors and treasure!" She gave him a cheeky grin, "What more could a girl want? Thanks again!" She waved as she left, already turning to the first page.

"You're welcome!" he called after her, shaking his head. What a strange girl.

Emma Swan continued down the street, running her other errands and barely avoiding knocking into the other villagers. However, she carefully weaved her way, picking up the supplies she needed. Her nose was buried in the book and so she missed the frowns and strange looks all the others gave her.

Even in the city she had come from, she was seen as a bit odd, but in this small town? She stuck out like a sore thumb and everyone could see it, none more so than the girl herself. The villagers were nice enough, content to whisper only and so she grew used to ignoring them.

One person was not content with whispers though. "Emma!" A loud voice boomed next to her, nearly making her trip.

She turned with a jerk. "Oh, Neal," she said. "What's up?"

The man in question smiled charmingly and then grabbed the book from her hands. Emma instantly narrowed her eyes, "Give me my book back. Right now." She knew he only did it to tease her, but it never failed to annoy her far more than he was aware. It was one of things he did that actually ticked her off.

Neal flipped through the pages idly, oblivious to her angry glare, "How do you read this crap? There aren't even any pictures!"

Emma rolled her eyes and snatched the book back, "Some of us don't need pictures." _Because we're over the age of five_, she added silently.

Neal rolled his own eyes, "Really, Emma, I don't know why you bother. With your looks, you don't need to know anything you might learn in a book. Book-learning will only drive men off. They'll think you think you're smarter or better than they are, if you read so much."

Emma scowled, Neal was usually tolerable and one of the few people here that actually tried to talk to her, at least until he said something that made her want to bash his head into something hard. She was pretty sure he was half-joking, but it was the half that actually believed his own crap that stopped them from being anything more than casual friends. "Oh, well I wouldn't want _that_."

She tried to continue going back to her home—alone—but he insisted on following her. He winked, "Exactly. A girl as pretty as you doesn't need to occupy herself with such worthless pursuits. Not when there are other things you could be doing," he grinned.

She elbowed him, "Really, Mr. Cassidy—that's what you're going with?"

He laughed and shrugged, "Whatever works."

"That actually works on some girls?" Emma asked incredulously.

Neal nodded, "Yup. Flattery is the number one way into a girls sk—heart."

Emma couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Right, her heart."

He shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'. Emma rolled her eyes and jostled him lightly with her shoulder. "You try not to steal anymore hearts—I gotta get back home."

"I make no promises!" he called after her, unable to stop himself from admiring her fine ass as she left. She offered up only a wave, nose back in her book.

Oh, yes. That Emma Swan was a strange one, he thought to himself. And that's why he had to have her. He was getting a bit older, time to stop messing with those silly girls and find himself a proper wife. And, strange habits like reading and preferring men's clothes, were not enough to take away from the fact that Emma was easily the prettiest, and therefore the best, woman in the village—the prettiest that was sensible wife and child raising material (not tumble in the hay material like his previous conquests).

Emma was the newest, shiniest thing in town and Neal was nothing if not easily distracted. And besides, she was the one thing he truly enjoyed most—a challenge. Neal was a hunter by trade, the very best for miles around, and nothing excited Neal more than a good hunt. The harder the challenge, the sweeter the victory, whether it be in the woods with a rifle or with a girl. All the other girls in town were either ugly or too easy, Emma was the only one that really resisted, but he knew if he just set his mind to it she would his, just like everything else in his life.

Neal Cassidy wanted the best, and he would have her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Emma opened the door to the small cottage she shared with a creak. "I'm home!" she called, not looking up from her book as she set her basket down on the kitchen table.

A light laugh came from the other side of the room, "I'm right here, Emma—no need to shout."

Emma looked up from her book. A pretty brunette sat in the corner of the front room, plying her needle at some cloth. She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Mary Margaret." She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "Still used to having to shout for David."

"It's alright," Mary Margaret dismissed with a wave. Then she gave a wistful sigh, "I do hope he returns soon."

Emma nodded in sympathy, "It must be hard to be away from him so soon after getting married." David was away in the big city; a family member had died and he was mentioned in the will. He set out on the long journey on his own, leaving his new wife at home, in hopes of coming back with some more money to ease their living.

Mary Margaret sighed again, "It is, but I imagine it must be hard for you as well—how long have you been away from your brother before?"

Emma smiled. In truth, David was not her brother by blood. When she was thirteen, they had become family after she had saved his life. He was a shipbuilder, good for his only seventeen years, and she was a street child. She wasn't very trusting of him—everyone had left her in the end—but he stuck around, always offering her a place to stay when it was cold or a bit of food when she got particularly hungry. Over the years they grew very close.

Last year, a terrible sort of luck had befallen his employer and he was left without work. To make matters worse, with sailors being suspicious by nature, it had been decided that those who had worked for his old company carried bad luck too—making it impossible for him to get a new job. Eventually, he had decided to take what little he had and go to the countryside to a village where a very good friend of his deceased mother lived.

He had asked Emma to come with him and by then they had truly become siblings in spirit. She had agreed to come, as he needed someone a little less trusting to look out for him as she had over the years. She was excited to see new places and travel for once—on top of having made her own share of enemies in the city where her blunt attitude and independent nature often led to clashes with others.

When they arrived in the village, he soon found work as a carpenter while she took care of their home and animals. David was rather hopeless with caring for any animals besides Pongo, his dog. They were lucky to have been able to have not only a number of chickens and a cow, but also a pair of horses. Emma liked to tease him that she had really come to be with her horse (who technically belonged to David).

"It's never been this long since we first met, to be honest," Emma told her. "But he should be home any day now and we'll give him a big welcome."

Mary Margaret smiled at that, "Oh yes!" Then she looked shy for a moment, "May I confess something to you, Emma?"

Emma went over to sit by her, "Of course you can. You _are_ my sister." Mary Margaret was the daughter of the friend who had known David's mother. She was about two years older than Emma.

She and David fell in love almost at first sight. Almost because when Mary Margaret had first seen him in the house, she thought he was a robber and attacked him with a frying pan. Eventually the whole situation as sorted out and the rest was history. They had married just over two months ago.

Mary Margaret smiled widely at that. "Yes, well. I wanted to wait for David to return, but I cannot contain myself much longer." Emma looked at her eagerly, wondering what news she could have. "I didn't find out until after he left, only a few days ago actually, but I'm pregnant!"

Emma stared at her in shock before wrapping her arms around her in a strong hug, "Really?"

Mary Margaret nodded happily. "Wow, that's awesome!" Emma stared at Mary Margaret's stomach, before looking back at her smiling face. "I'm going to have a niece or a nephew."

"Yup."

-/-

A/N: I know it starts out kinda slow, but I promise it'll pick up. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

-/-

Chapter Two

Unfortunately for them, David did not come home the next day. Or the next. Or even a week later. They began to get seriously worried.

Emma was going through her chores even more distractedly than usual worrying about David. She did her best to assure Mary Margaret everything was fine because she knew the other woman needed to hear it. Truthfully though, Emma was pretty convinced something bad _had_ happened to him.

Any other man, she would just assume he'd left. But David would never do that. He was one of the rare few genuinely decent and kind-hearted people out there. Especially with Mary Margaret at home. Those two were so in love it actually made Emma faintly uncomfortable at times. She hoped it was only weather or complications in town, but her gut was telling her that it was something far worse.

What was she going to do though? She couldn't very well go find him. Firstly she couldn't leave poor Mary Margaret alone and more importantly she had no idea where he even was!

She was so lost in her thoughts she completely missed the next step and nearly went tumbling down the stairs. Fortunately, Neal had been nearby (stalking her) and grabbed her by the arms. Emma caught her breath quickly and pulled herself from his grip, uncomfortable. "Thanks," she said with a smile and Neal was reminded once more of her beauty.

He invaded her personal space, "No trouble at all." He reached and took her basket before she could protest. "I got this."

She frowned, not liking his presumption, but decided to allow it, too tired of worrying to argue with him today. She resumed walking home, leaving the town behind, and taking Neal with her.

"So," Neal said, disliking silence and loving the sound of his own voice, "I've been thinking…"

"That's never good," Emma muttered under her breath, her mouth quirking up at the corners.

"…And I think it's time I settled down."

Emma blinked, that not being what she expected—at all. "Settle…down?"

"Yeah! You know, find myself a nice little wife," Neal continued, mistaking her clarification for interest. He looked her over once more, obviously still finding her appealing and continued. "Picture this:" he spread his hands out in front of him as they followed the path to her cottage, "I get home from a long hunt and come home to a pretty young thing, ready with food and a foot massage. We'll have five or six strong boys—like me. Hm, a couple of good hunting dogs too."

Neal was lost in his dream as Emma unlocked the door, she used his distraction to take back her things. "Right," she said skeptically, "Sounds great."

He snapped back to her, "It will be. So what do you say?"

Emma furrowed her brow, "Huh? To what?"

"To being my wife, of course," he answered as if she was the slow one.

"…Me? Be your wife?" she stared at him uncomprehending. He couldn't be serious. How the hell could he think that she would ever want to marry him?

"I know, I know—it's a lot to take in. Not every day your dreams come true."

Oh God, he _was_ serious. She let out a strangled laugh. "And what would you know of my dreams?" Emma asked incredulously. The very idea of Neal of all people knowing her dreams was ridiculous.

"What's there to know? All women want to get married and who wouldn't want to marry me?" Neal answered dismissively.

For a moment, all she could do was stare at him before she opened the door to the cottage ducking inside to put her stuff down. It was almost impressive how completely wrong he was. Marrying Neal was that last thing she would ever do. She wanted to leave this small town and travel. Probably not even to her home city. She wanted to explore the world, visit some of the places she's only read about in books. Go somewhere new and exciting, where nothing was ever boring or monotonous.

If she ever wanted to marry someone, it would not be to 'settle down' in some provincial town and raise a ton of children. She would want someone to share in her adventures with her, or who at least didn't think the idea was odd or strange like all these small minded people. Someone who understood her. An equal, not someone so idiotic that thought himself so far above her.

When she reappeared in the doorway, she almost said as much until she remembered she did have to live in this town for a bit longer, and David would live here for the rest of his life. She tried not to be as blunt as she normally was, "Neal, I'm flattered, really, but I'm not exactly "mothering" material—surely there are plenty of other women in town much more suited to you."

Neal blinked at her in confusion, a small frown appearing as it dawned on him she hadn't said yes immediately. "Nonsense, every woman wants children and can be a mother. And I want you."

Emma's eyes narrowed slightly, slowly losing her grip on her tongue, "Yes, well, I'm very sorry Neal, but I have a duty to my brother and his new wife. And I really don't think you'd be happy married to me. I must decline."

Neal stared at her and instead of getting upset or hurt, merely got angry. "You what?" He scoffed, "Obviously you're not thinking clearly."

Her eyes hardened, "I said no. Now please leave my home."

He didn't even seem to hear her and took a step in. "Wait a minute," his face was thunderous.

That was the final straw for Emma. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a hard shove. To Neal's great surprise, she was much stronger than she looked, and he stumbled back, nearly falling down the steps. "I'm sorry, but I do not wish to marry you. Good day." And the wooden door swung shut.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After she was sure he had left, Emma retreated to the barn to think. David had personally fixed it up as soon as they settled in. She needed to get out of the cottage and calm down from Neal's ridiculous behavior. The make-shift stable was a comfort. She went over to her horse, Jaune.

She had visited him often enough after they first met when she tumbled into his stall by accident and hid from some obnoxious idiots that had been taught a valuable lesson, if you asked her—they hadn't exactly seen it as such. After that she had gone back to visit him often, and they had formed a solid friendship—one stubborn creature to another.

Truthfully, Emma had rescued him from his owner who was a bit too heavy with the riding crop, disgusted at his treatment of the horse. She couldn't ignore the treatment any longer even though she had no right or real ability to interfere. Unfortunately she was unable to keep him hidden for long (the city being a hard place to hide a stolen horse for very long—especially when you were poor) and so the owner had coming looking. David had saved them both by offering to buy Jaune.

Emma had contributed a bit, but the lion's share of the money had come from David's own coffers. David tried to pass him to her as a gift but Emma insisted that he was David's horse since he was the one who had paid for him. Still, she was saving up the little money she got from odd jobs and one day she would pay David back. She was almost there, only having been set back once or twice when money got low when they first left and then as they settled in here.

She sighed, when she could truly own Jaune would also be when she moved on from the quaint cottage in this quaint village. Neal had talked of her dreams. Ha! As if he could ever hope to know what she wanted.

Still, her angry thoughts and contemplation of the future could not hold off her despairing thoughts over David's absence for long. What would she do if David didn't come back? What would Mary Margaret do?

She brushed Jaune as she thought, chewing her bottom lip as she tried to keep her thoughts from spiraling out of control. All of a sudden she heard a loud commotion in the yard. She rushed out and was nearly bowled over by Pongo.

"Pongo!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here boy?" She wrapped her arms around the Dalmatian, surprised at how happy she was to see the dog. "Where's David?" she looked around, sure the man himself must be behind the dog, but no one was in sight.

Pongo let out a pitiful whine and panted. It was then she realized he was clearly distressed. "Come on, let's get you some water."

She led the dog over to the water trough, filled it up and thought as he drank greedily. If Pongo was here and not with David then something bad had definitely happened. However, if Pongo had found his way home, then he couldn't have gotten separated from David too long ago. That meant David couldn't be more than a day away, less probably. She looked around, but their other horse and cart didn't seem to have made it back.

The more she thought about it, the more determined she grew. She had to go find David and make sure he got home safely. She left Pongo to go inside and grab her dagger and cloak. If she left now, she should be able to find him before it got dark, especially if Pongo had only been traveling for the morning, which, judging by how tired he was, seemed to be the case.

When she came out, Pongo met her and she fed him some meat as they went into the stable. She quickly began saddling Jaune up. "Now Pongo, you did very good to come home, but now I need you to take me back."

Pongo whined in distress. "Don't give me that. We need to get David back," she scolded lightly. Pongo barked at his master's name and looked a bit more confident. She fed him another treat. "Good boy. We'll get him and everyone will be back home, safe and sound."

He barked again and she led Jaune out of the stable. She stopped once more to leave Mary Margaret a message not to worry, only saying that she had some news about David and was going to meet him. Which wasn't exactly lying. Technically.

Emma swung up into the saddle, gave Pongo a nod and clicked at the horse to follow him. She would find David and get him home safe to his wife, Emma vowed to herself, she would do her very best to make sure the man who had helped her so much could at least be guaranteed his own family. No one deserved it more.

-/-

A/N: I hope nothing seems too off-base. 'Jaune' means yellow in French, as in Emma's yellow bug? Sorry, I know I'm probably the only who cares about that. ^^' Anyway, I know we're still on the boring stuff, but just bear with me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed and read. :D


	3. Chapter 3

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse the belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
**

A/N: Unfortunately, my beta is extremely busy this week and didn't have a chance to look over this chapter (I tried to give her time which is why the chapter is being posted so late as it is), so any and all mistakes are mine.

Without further ado, here's where things really start to take off. Enjoy.

**-/-**

Chapter Three

Pongo led her into the woods south of their cottage for a good while before going west. When they had first come to the town, they had gone straight east and then straight north, this was cutting through a different, much less traveled area at an angle. There were good reasons it was best avoided, rumors of terrible things living there, people disappearing. It was just like David to have ignored such rumors just to make it back to them a bit quicker—especially if he'd been running late.

Emma wanted to dismiss such rumors out of hand but as she rode deeper into the forest she started to believe them more and more. The whole place seemed sinister and haunted. Even the trees looked like they were out to get her. What had made David think this was a good idea?

Pongo was obviously on edge, but he seemed to decide his duty was to his master. He wanted Emma to rescue him and so on he went. Emma looked around nervously, trusting Jaune to know without being asked to follow the Dalmatian. Jaune was a remarkably calm horse, (he had been even all those years ago when a random girl had tumbled into his stall with a warning), but even he was could tell something was wrong, she could feel the tension in him as they rode. The whole place was unsettling, from the skeletal trees to the ever present fog. _And why on earth was it dark as night despite it only being the afternoon?_

Soon the ground evened out and they seemed to come to a more established path of sorts. Emma looked and was surprised to see a giant castle looming up in front of her. _What the hell is a castle doing in the middle of a creepy forest?_ Emma asked herself. _And why have I never heard of it?_ The castle certainly suited the surrounding trees though. Lightening cracked around it ominously, despite the fact that there wasn't a storm—though it looked like there might have been one recently. And Pongo seemed headed straight for it.

Sure enough, soon they arrived at very large iron gate. The gate was slightly ajar, signally that someone had probably come through here recently. New determination filled her in spite of the eerie circumstances. She would find David and she would bring him home.

So, she pushed on, past the ludicrously tall gates, down a long road lined with trees that at least had some leaves on them, over a stone bridge, under an upraised portcullis and into a sort of courtyard—the fog made it hard to tell.

Emma dismounted, stroking Jaune's nose, trying to keep him calm. Frankly, the place was very disturbing. A strong wind blew through, rustling dead leaves, making her cloak swirl and making her hair go into her face. She shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her.

Emma looked down at Pongo, who was sniffing with his nose to the ground. "Any chance David's out here somewhere and we can just grab him and go without heading into the spooky castle?" Pongo whined before padding up the large stone steps and pawing at the giant wooden doors of the castle.

Emma sighed, but followed him. "Of course not. That would be too easy." She grasped the large knocker and heaved against one of the doors, arm muscles straining. It opened slowly, the noise echoing through the empty air behind it.

She hesitantly went in. "Hello?" she asked. "Anybody home?" She took a few more steps, the silence strangely comforting—she'd rather an abandoned creepy castle over one that still had something living in it. Emma wasn't afraid of the dark, having taken advantage of the ability to hide herself, but she knew any sort of person could hide there as well and she wasn't sure she wanted to meet the kind of person who hung out in a sketchy castle in the middle of a forest.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" She strolled in a bit more confidently, more sure that it was empty. That is until she realized that the only reason she could see anything at all was because of the torch in a wall bracket.

She swallowed. A lit torch still burning meant that someone had been here—recently. She chose to keep her mouth shut from then on as she wrestled the torch from its iron holder. She held it up, trying to see more of the castle, but the light just wasn't enough to let her know anything beyond that the castle was huge—she must be in some sort of grand entrance hall.

She'd read about places like this, but she'd never really thought she'd actually get to be in one. Her mind was filled with questions like 'why was David here?' 'where was here?' 'who else was here?' and 'what was this place?' However she was pulled from her thoughts by an impatient Pongo. He barked from the edge of her circle of light. Evidently he was annoyed at her dilly-dallying and wanted to get on with tracking his master. "Right, coming," she said as she hurried over to him.

He led her further into the castle, through a few halls before heading down a twisting narrow set of stairs. Eventually, they reached what appeared to be a dungeon.

It was definitely much creepier than it was in books. The high windows letting in odd bits of light, the gradual drip, drip of water and even what sounded like ghosts whispering. The air was frigid and musty causing her to draw her cloak tighter and try to control a sneeze.

Pongo was sniffing—nose to the cold stones, obviously have a harder time following the scent. He moved slowly down the line of cells. Emma then heard what was definitely a shuffle. "Is someone there?" she asked cautiously, wincing at the slight echo despite the fact that she'd try to keep her voice down.

A pause before more noises of movement. "Hello?" The new voice echoed as well, the tone weary and scared, but she recognized it all the same.

She and Pongo ran for the sound, their footsteps obvious as they splashed through some shallow puddles, "David?" The relief crashed over her like a wave.

"Emma?" came the disbelieving voice.

"David! There you are!" She hadn't been aware of just how worried she was that she'd never find him, or worse that she would and he would be… Emma shook that thought from her head—he was right there, he was fine. Focus on getting him out, she told herself, you can be grateful when we're back home. Emma set her torch in a holder next to the cell David was being held in.

"Emma! Pongo? What are you doing here?" he asked in shock as Emma set about trying to figure out how to get him out of the cell. "You have to leave. Quick!"

"We're here to rescue, of course." She flashed him a cheeky grin. "And I'm _not_ leaving you here," Emma said with determination as she began to pick the lock.

"It's not worth both of our lives!" he pleaded with her to see reason. "Please! Before it comes back!"

"Who?" Emma asked distractedly, her tongue stuck out as she focused on opening the lock.

Just as the lock popped open and Pongo rushing forward to lick David's face, a voice came out of the shadows. "I believe he is referring to me, dear," a dark voice intoned.

Emma spun in surprise, her dagger held out defensively. A cruel laugh sounded and the knife went flying from her hands to stick into the wall. Emma gulped, but tried not to let her fear show, "Who's there?"

A pair of dark eyes lit up in the corner, swirling with purple, "I am the Queen of this castle so it I who should be asking that, don't you think? My, my, my. So many trespassers in so short a span."

Emma's face hardened. "Let him go. He hasn't done anything."

"On the contrary, he trespassed on my lands, broke into my castle, ate my food and then stole from me," the dark feminine voice listed off.

"I know David, he would never do such things on purpose. There must be some mistake," Emma pled.

"Emma, don't bother with that crazy witch. Run!" David begged.

"Silence!" the voice commanded, purple magic closing over David's mouth like a gag.

"Stop! Please, he has a family. Keep me instead! Just let him go!" Emma said frantically.

There was a pause as Emma refused to meet David's frantic eyes. Then a figure stepped forward. Emma gasped in shock, recoiling instinctively. It was definitely female, but what sort of creature stood before her? It was unlike any she had seen or heard of.

Her body covered in dark fur, almost blue-ish black in color, however she was shaped as a person with individual fingers, upright on two legs. Or so Emma believed, the gown she wore obscuring her lower half. The gown was black as well, rich and elegant. Her face was stranger still, cat ears and human hair on top of a head with purple cat eyes, a cat nose and a human mouth. She stood at Emma's own height and yet the presence she cast made her seem much larger. "You would trade places with him?" She tilted her head to the side as if examining a novelty she'd never seen before.

Emma fought to get over her shock. She swallowed before nodding resolutely, "Yes, I would."

The strange sorceress stared at her for a moment, long enough for Emma to grow uncomfortable before the beast gave her a wolf's grin, all sharp teeth and predatory intent, "Very well, a bargain is struck. You shall stay in the castle for the rest of your days and the man is free to leave."

"Thank you," Emma was caught between relief that David could leave and despair at her own impending imprisonment. "May I have some time to say goodbye?"

The witch frowned, as if not understanding why Emma would ask. "I have been merciful enough in letting one of you leave, let alone affording both of you your lives, have I not?"

Emma scowled and snapped, "Oh, come on. I already promised to stay forever, the least you could give me was five minutes to say goodbye to my brother."

The witch pulled back a tiny bit, looking surprised to have been spoken to in such a manner. Emma immediately regretted misspeaking. _Way to piss off the powerful sorceress, Swan_. But to her surprise the witch merely disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

It seemed she took her magical gag with her as David immediately gulped in a large breath, making Emma turn her head from the empty spot and rush to him. "Are you alright?"

"Am _I_ alright?!" David cried. "Are you crazy? Why did you do that?" Pongo whimpered in distress at both of their tones. David absentmindedly scratched his head.

Emma helped David to his feet, "I couldn't let you stay trapped here, David."

"But now you're trapped here instead!"

"I don't have a wife at home. I promised Mary Margaret that I would find and rescue you. I intend to keep that promise," Emma stated firmly.

"Emma," David said with a sigh, "I don't think she meant for you to be trapped instead. Surely she didn't expect you to exchange your freedom for mine—if she truly knew you were even attempting to do such a foolhardy thing."

Emma looked down. David spoke again, his hand on her shoulder, "Come on, maybe we can both make it out of here. While the abominable creature is gone."

"Or that could get us both trapped. Or dead. I won't take that risk," Emma replied stubbornly, her chin jutting out. When David looked like he was going to argue further, Emma revealed in a low voice, "Mary Margaret is with child."

David looked gob smacked. "What?" he asked in a reverent voice.

"She only just found out, while you were gone," Emma told him. He looked shocked and elated in equal measure. "I'll not break up a family. I'll not have a child grow up father-less—not if I can help it," she said fiercely, leaving no room for argument.

"But, Emma…." David didn't want to accept Emma's plan, though it was looking more or more like the best thing.

Before Emma could argue further, a cloud of smoke appeared in the corner. The witch was back. "Time to go, dear," she said with a sinister smile.

"Wait," David protested, his protective nature unable to silence itself, "Can you promise that she will not be harmed? That you won't just kill her when I leave?"

The witch aggressively stepped forward with a snarl, her pointed teeth flashing in the low light and her eyes swirling with purple. "The girl will not be harmed in my castle by anything other her own foolishness. Why would I take her prisoner only to kill her? And it's not as if I wished to do so now, you would be able to stop me," she added contemptuously. Her eyes narrowed, "_You_ are leaving."

"I'll be fine, David. Go. Tell Mary Margaret, I'm sorry I won't get to meet the baby," Emma tried to reassure him.

"Emma!" David was starting to disappear in a haze of purple smoke. "I'm sorry! Never forget we love you!" His voice faded, leaving only wisps of smoke where he had stood.

"Bye…" Emma stared at the spot in sorrow. She already missed him. She would never see the man she thought of as her older brother or the woman she saw as a sister again. She would never get to so much as meet her niece or nephew.

"How touching," the witch sneered. Emma turned to her with a glare, but she didn't seem to notice. The sorceress inspected her nails as if she didn't have a care in the world. The only thing that stopped Emma from responding with something nasty in kind was that she noticed the witch's nails were actually claws—and very sharp ones at that.

Emma ran a hand through her tangled curls. How had everything gone so completely wrong? She felt the bizarre desire to laugh at the absurdity of the direction her life was spiraling in.

"Would you care to see your room?" the witch's words startled her.

Emma glanced at the dirty, dank cell David had been in. "You mean it's not here?"

The witch shrugged, "If you're going to be here permanently you may as well have a proper room." She looked at Emma sideways, "Unless of course, you'd prefer to stay there…"

"No!" Emma answered hastily, "Definitely not."

"Then follow me." The witch strode from the room and, as she walked instead of simply disappearing, Emma could hear the click of claws on the stone floor.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The witch led the blonde through a dizzying maze of corridors in silence. Emma was beginning to move past her fear, for the moment, studying her surroundings with interest and curiosity. If anything could be said about Emma it was that she was far too curious for her own good. The place certainly was impressive. She had missed more than she thought in her hurry to find David.

It was also helpful that wherever the witch went, candles lit up so she could actually see farther than a few feet around of her. The ceilings were very lofty, there were beautiful paintings and lots of ornaments everywhere—all indicators that it was very genuine castle. Though it certainly had a haunted feel to it; the paintings were stunning but somehow sad and lonely, the statues dark and cold, and the overall décor made her shiver at the hostility—like even the castle didn't want her here. On top of all that, it was so big—making her feel very small and insignificant. It should have made her feel uncomfortable, to be all alone in a creeptastic castle with a crazy magical beast, but she began to get a really strong impression that they were not in fact alone.

The whispers she thought she was imagining in the dungeons were still there, if not louder. She even thought she'd seen the Queen's ear twitch towards the sounds once or twice. It would make sense for royalty to have some kind of help. The question was if they were, well, _normal_ or not. She tried to think of a good way to check it out for herself, but Emma wasn't exactly known for being indirect, "So…anyone else in this place?"

"My servants. I'm sure they will introduce themselves shortly," the answer was rather clipped and her face was contorted as if she was thinking about something serious. Or at least that's what Emma thought, it was really hard to tell.

"How many do you have?" Emma asked, knowing the creature must be powerful or wealthy to employ a number of servants. And she looked to be both, if the castle and casual magic were anything to go by.

"Too many," the witch said darkly, "Far too troublesome for their own good."

They came to the top of a grandiose stairway that split in two directions. The sorceress turned to face her, her cape flaring out at the movement. Emma tried not to flinch at the abrupt motion, still rather anxious of the witch's frightful appearance. In the better light, Emma noticed her outfit wasn't pure black, but black and purple.

Her face was deadly serious as she stared at the blonde. She gestured to the stairs that led to the right. The lights dropped off there, though it was almost like it seemed even darker than just the candles being unlit, like that part of the castle was actively absorbing the light, and Emma couldn't see anything beyond a few feet. "You will not go into the West Wing of the castle under any circumstances," she intoned solemnly, not even blinking. "You may go anywhere else, but you will leave this part alone."

"Why? What's up there?" Emma couldn't help but ask.

The creature snarled, purple sparks flying off of her, as she got in Emma's face, "None of your business! You are never to go there! Ever! Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah—geeez." Emma said, surprised by the over the top reaction. She tried to seem unbothered, but truthfully she was sweating. The beast was scary when her voice got like that—like she would eat you and not even care. She held up her hands in surrender, "I got it. Leave the creepy stairs alone."

The witch sent her a glare that could peel paint and stormed up the left staircase. Emma followed slowly and, not wanting to anger her further, kept her remaining questions to herself.

Finally, the creature came to a halt in front of a large wooden door. It seemed unremarkable from any of the other doors, Emma studied the painting across from it so she would be able to find it later. "This is your room. You are free to venture wherever you wish. Leave me alone and don't bother the servants unnecessarily. Dinner is at six o'clock sharp. I will see you then."

Emma scowled, she always hated being told what to do and she hated schedules, "What if I don't want to have dinner with you?"

The witch narrowed her eyes. "You will have dinner with me at six o'clock," she hissed, "Or you will not eat." With that, she poofed away leaving Emma glaring at nothing.

Emma scowled and sighed, kicking the wall lightly and muttering under her breath about crazy witches. She turned to the door nervously, testing the handle. It turned easily. Emma took a deep breath and opened the door.

**-/-  
**

There you have it - our ladies have finally met. How do you think it went?

I hope they're in character. Let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse the belonged to a fearsome creature-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing

-/-

Chapter Four

Emma wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the elegant and spacious rooms she found on the other side of the door were certainly not it. She gazed around in shock at the rich furnishings. Surely she had never seen a room so fine before.

She appeared to be in a sitting room of some sort, with two other rooms going off on each side. She looked around, it seemed tasteful, though a bit princess for her—pastel colors not really being her thing—but at least nothing was pink. Everything looked like it was in very good condition.

Is this how the queen treats all her prisoners? Emma thought wryly. This was easily the nicest place she had ever been in, a very far cry from the cell David had been tossed in. Before she could think about that further, she was distracted by a sound.

She instantly froze, looking around warily. She pulled out her dagger, pointing it toward the room to her left where the sounds were coming from before she looked down at it in shock. When had she gotten her dagger back? Last time she had seen it, it had been stuck in the wall in the dungeons. The witch must have given it back to her at some point. Emma didn't know if she should feel better that she had her dagger back or nervous that the witch didn't even care if her prisoners were armed. Emma supposed the knife wasn't exactly a threat to her.

She was drawn out of her musing by more noises and so she crept closer to the room. She slowly looked inside, "Who's there?" She stepped into the room, dagger at the ready. A figure behind the open door of a wardrobe of some kind let out a squeak of surprise, dropping something. They leaned over to pick it up, drawing Emma's attention to their furry boots, the only part of them she could see. She looked back up to where she assumed the person's head was at the sound of their voice from behind the door, "Oh! I'm so sorry."

It was a girl's voice, seemingly genuine in its distress. Emma relaxed at the sound of another person, beyond grateful there was someone here who sounded so normal. However, most of that evaporated when the girl stepped back and shut the door.

She was definitely not a normal girl and she was definitely not wearing boots. The girl was covered in fur, like the witch. However, where the beast seemed catlike in appearance, and temperament, this girl looked much more wolflike. She had on a strange outfit, a short red skirt and white top, her hair in pigtails.

Emma's mouth fell open as she stared while the girl gave a little bow and continued apologizing.  
"I'm sorry," she did seem genuinely embarrassed, her hand tugging on a pigtail, "I thought you'd take longer!"

"Wha…? Who…?" Emma didn't know where to even begin.

"Sorry." She couldn't seem to stop saying that. "You're probably really confused right now and I'm not helping at all." She took a deep breath, visibly collecting herself, and smiled, "I'm Ruby. I was supposed to get your room ready. Hi."

"…Hi." Emma didn't know what else to say. She got that this must be one of the servants the witch spoke of. Was there anything about this place that was going to be normal?

As if the universe had heard her, she heard another noise, "Eh-hem." Emma turned sharply and nearly fell over in shock. There was a face in the mirror. A moving face. A talking face. It was an exotic looking man, complete with a turban. He cleared his throat once more, but now having her full attention, he continued, "Yes, now, on behalf of the Queen's staff, welcome to the Dark Castle." He seemed to be much more servant-like, proper, than the other girl. "My name is Sidney Glass and I am the head footman. Miss Ruby Lucas has been assigned as your…" he frowned, searching for the right word. "Maid?"

Ruby made a face and shook her head in distaste. "Lady-in-waiting?" he tried.

Ruby considered it and then smiled. "That sounds better—fancier, more important."

"Of course," he said dryly and Emma could almost see the suppressed eye roll. "Ruby will be your lady-in-waiting. If you have any questions you may ask her," he nodded his head to Ruby, "or, by saying my name into any mirror, summon me to answer any concerns you may have. Any questions at the moment?"

He stared at her expectantly, but Emma had no idea what to ask a mirror and so she mutely shook her head. He raised a brow at her silence, gave her a once over, evidently finding her lacking, before he continued, "Alright. I shall go. Remember, dinner is at six o'clock. Her Majesty hates tardiness." Having said his piece, the mirror swirled and then emptied, leaving her staring at her own reflection. Mirror Emma looked rather pale. Perhaps she should sit down.

Emma moved blindly to the bed, blankly staring at nothing. Ruby looked at her with concern, but stayed back, obviously not wanting to upset her further. "Miss?" she asked as Emma collapsed heavily on the bed.

Emma fell back and stared up at the canopy over the bed. "There," she began, trying to process everything that was happening to her, "—there was a face in the mirror. And it talked to me. And you're part wolf and I'm the prisoner of a witch, creature, thing." What happened to my life? She shut her eyes tightly and then opened them again. Nope, the fancy canopy over the bed was still there. This was really happening. Crap.

"Um," Ruby didn't know how to respond to that or even if she was supposed to. "Yes?" She sat down on the bed next to Emma, though she did leave a few feet of space between them. "Sorry about that, by the way." Emma rolled her head over to look at her. "The whole prisoner thing. I mean, I know we're all excited to have a visitor, but you're probably not."

"Um, no. Not so much," Emma acknowledged.

Ruby hung her head, "And it's all our fault too."

Emma raised a brow at that and pushed herself up. "What'dya mean?" She scrunched her face up in confusion. "How the heck could this all be your fault?"

"Because," Ruby said sorrowfully, "We're the ones who let that man in. The one you followed." Emma nodded at her to show she was following. "We knew the queen wouldn't like anyone in the castle and Sidney and Archie told us it was a bad idea. But Granny didn't think he should be left out in the rain. And I'm the one who insisted on getting him food and letting him sit in the queen's chair." Ruby said all of this in one breath and Emma had no idea who she was talking about, but then she remembered what the witch had said. David's 'crimes'.

"Oh," Emma considered this new information before she sighed. "It's not your fault. You didn't know she'd try to imprison anyone."

Ruby nibbled her bottom lip between sharp teeth. "Still…"

"Really, it's fine. David should have known better than to go into some strange castle. Besides, you didn't make that witch keep me," Emma continued, "That's on her."

"I guess." There was a moment of quiet. "Who was he?"

"Hm," Emma was lost in her thoughts.

"That man. He seemed really nice. Who was he?" Ruby persisted, her curiosity over something new too much to contain.

"Oh, that was David. He's my older brother," Emma explained. "I came here to find him cuz he'd been missing too long and we were getting worried."

"We?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded, "Me and Mary Margaret, his wife. That's why I agreed to stay. They just got married—I don't have anyone like that so…." She shrugged.

"Oh, that's too bad. I don't either," Ruby added, trying to cheer her up.

Emma gave her a smile, the girl was sweet, "It's fine, I don't really mind."

"What's your name? I can't believe I forgot to ask," Ruby said sheepishly.

"Emma, Emma Swan."

Ruby held out a paw, "Nice to meet you, Miss Swan."

Emma laughed and shook it, "Nice to meet you too. And please, just call me Emma."

"You got it, Emma." Ruby shot a look at the clock and stood up. "Dinner's gonna be soon. Do you wanna change your clothes?"

Emma copied her, standing up with a stretch, "I don't know if I wanna go. I mean that witch is kinda a real bitch," she chuckled lightly at her own rhyme. "I kinda wanna bail just to piss her off."

Ruby looked nervous, "I don't think you should do that. The Queen would definitely get mad. And aren't you hungry?"

Emma frowned, "Well, there is that. She said if I didn't come to dinner I wasn't allowed to eat."

Ruby's expression fell, "That's too bad. If she said that then you really can't. No one would be allowed to give you any food."

Emma looked crestfallen at that, "Darn, I was hoping I could sneak something."

Ruby shook her head, "Not with the Queen's magic. Like you said she'd be furious and would definitely make sure you couldn't."

Emma's frown deepened as she considered if it was worth it, just to piss the witch off.

"The food's really good here. Dinner is always a feast. The Queen eats first, but everyone gets some when she's done—which is a lot," she wheedled. "My Granny is the head chef and she's very good."

Emma was still torn until her stomach let out a loud growl. She gave in laughing, "Alright, you got me. I missed lunch anyways. Now that all the crazy-ness is over, I'm pretty starving."

Ruby grinned, "You won't regret it. Trust me. Now, clothes?" She motioned Emma over to the wardrobe.

Emma frowned, "Why do I need to get changed?" She looked down at the brown breeches, white shirt and blue vest she had on under her matching blue cloak. Sure, it wasn't the highest quality, but they were perfectly fine clothes. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Oh, no," Ruby said assured her, "Just, people tend to get dressed up for dinner, you know? And you've been travelling in those. I just figured you'd want a new outfit."

Emma nodded, "I guess, but…" She opened the doors of the wardrobe and stared at the dresses inside. She wrinkled her nose, "I don't do dresses."

Ruby looked surprised, glancing in the wardrobe and then back to Emma. "How come? These are so pretty."

She actually looked a bit hurt and Emma remembered she'd set up the room. She probably picked out those dresses for her. "They are," she reassured the teenager, "I don't like, well, any dresses." She winced at how that sounded and she tried to explain. "They're just so troublesome. They're hot and they get dirty and you can't ride correctly and just…too much trouble. I mean, yeah I've worn some on special occasions but…I really prefer pants."

She gave the wolf-girl a look, silently asking her to understand. Ruby considered her before smiling, "That makes sense. You'll have to give us some time then to get you the right clothes then. Most men's clothes will be too big. The seamstresses will need time."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Emma quickly tried to dissuade her, she didn't want anyone going through special trouble just for her.

"No," Ruby said, "It's fine, really. To be honest, the seamstresses like new projects. It can get kinda boring here and the Queen isn't exactly diverse in her color schemes. They'll like the distraction—trust me."

"If you're sure…"

Ruby nodded resolutely. "I am." Her eyes darted to the clock again. "It's time to go anyways."

"Alright," Emma motioned for her to show her the way. As they left Emma couldn't help but ask, "So exactly how good is this food?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Ruby led her through the castle and Emma had no idea how she was going to avoid getting lost. Oh, well, she'd been lost before—normally that's how she found the more interesting places.

Eventually they made it to a big set of double doors. Ruby pushed one open to reveal a large dining room.

There were a number of long tables, but Emma's eyes were drawn to the right of the room, where a smaller table was up on a dais. That one was actually set, complete with a center piece of surprisingly pretty flowers for this time of year, numerous plates with covers, and lit candles. The table could have seated ten or fifteen people, but only one spot was occupied: the Queen's.

Ruby ushered her over to the table hurriedly. Emma breathed in deeply, the food smelled amazing. She was suddenly very glad she had decided to come. After Emma sat down, Ruby bowed to the Queen and left. Emma tried to ignore the slight rise in her anxiety at her new ally leaving.

"You're late, Miss Swan," the crisp voice admonished, her gaze never wavering from the blonde.

Emma's response was to shrug, "Please, it can't have been by more than a minute."

The witch sniffed, her face stern, "You will be on time."

Emma rolled her eyes but her gaze was drawn to the food and away from the prickly creature across from her. "Sure."

The witch stared at her prisoner intently, but the girl didn't look up and so she sighed. She raised a hand, and a few servants rushed forward to serve them.

Emma looked up at the noise of carts coming over. She was surprised to see one come up to the side of the table with a tea pot on it, a tea pot who seemed to be the one in charge of the trays.

"Dinner is served," the anthropomorphic tea pot said with a flourish. Emma didn't know how a tea pot could sound kind and grandmotherly, but this one did.

The Queen nodded, "Thank you. That will be all for now."

The tea pot nodded and wheeled away, but not before giving Emma a wink. Heartened by the gesture, and the good food spread out in front of her, Emma felt most of her tension leave as she began to serve herself. The witch watched her for a moment before helping herself as well.

They ate in silence at first, no sound except for the click of cutlery on dishware.

Eventually, Emma decided to break the silence. She might as well see if she could get any answers from the witch. That reminded her, "So, what's your name?" Emma asked. The sorceress stared at her in surprise. "What?" Emma asked a little defensively, "You evidently already know my name, and if I'm gonna be stuck here, I'd like to at least know who I'm stuck with."

The witch stared at her, unblinking; her purple eyes were strangely hypnotizing. At last she looked back down at her food, releasing Emma from her gaze, and resumed eating. Emma sighed, figuring that she was never going to get an answer, when a low voice came from the other side of the table. "Regina."

Emma looked up in surprise, but the sorceress continued to stare at her plate. "My name is Regina," she repeated.

They lapsed back into silence, each observing the other carefully underneath eyelashes, sizing each other up.

"Did David get back safely?" Emma asked, not realizing how much she was worrying about that until she had the witch in front of her to ask.

"Yes," Regina answered succinctly.

Emma nodded, before opening her mouth again. "Yeah, I know you're saying that, but how do I know he actually is?"

Regina glared at the impetuous blonde, but Emma held firm. Regina narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided she respected Emma's untrusting nature and determination to see after her brother more than she was annoyed by her presumption that Regina owed her anything. She lifted a hand and made a sort of waving motion.

A puff of purple smoke encircled it and then dissipated, leaving a mirror with a handle in her grasp. Regina held the mirror out to the blonde who had to stand up and lean pretty far over the table in order to reach in.

When she got a hold of it, she sat back down, staring at in confusion. What was a mirror supposed to do? It was heavy, high quality, probably real silver. There was an elegant design of an apple tree on the back. It was a very nice mirror, but Emma still failed to grasp what it had to do with David.

She looked back at the witch at a loss.

Regina sighed in exasperation, "Look into the mirror and say his name."

Emma huffed skeptically, but did as she said. "David Nolan." For a second nothing happened, but then the whole glass turned foggy with purple smoke until it cleared to reveal a picture, a moving picture. Emma stared at in fascination.

There in the glass was David. He looked tired, but otherwise fine, as he sat in what she recognized as one of the chairs at home. Next to him was Mary Margaret who looked upset. They seemed to be talked animatedly and Emma realized they were probably talking about her. She felt unexpectedly sad, seeing them together and knowing she would never be there with them again.

Still, it proved that David was home and safe. That's what mattered. "Thank you," she said in a low subdued voice as she set the mirror down next to her.

Regina nodded in acknowledgement. "I always keep my word."

Emma looked over at the strange being across from her, a sudden wave of anger coming over her. Yeah, and lock up random strangers in your creepy castle. Though who takes someone prisoner and then gives them a suite, assigns them a servant and feeds them very, _very,_ good food. Emma inwardly let out a sigh, her rage dissolving against her will. This lady made no sense. Emma tried not to let herself get interested in finding out what made her tick. That was a dangerous path. Besides, she was much too angry at her for kidnapping her, taking away her freedom.

Emma let herself get worked up in a cloud of anger again, staring intensely at her plate and not looking at the witch again.

Regina continued glancing at the blonde from the corners of her eyes, secretly just as interested in her guest, though she kept an impassive mask on. How long would she keep this one around for?

A few minutes later Regina stood up, pushing her chair back. Emma finally looked up at her, green eyes stormy. "Dinner is every night at six. You may have other meals whenever you wish. However, if you skip dinner, you will not eat until the next dinner. Good night." And the witch vanished in her signature purple smoke once more.

-/-

A/N: We're heading into uncharted territories now. I have a plan and more written of course, but the next chapter I'm sorry to say is not yet completed. I hope to keep up with my update schedule of a chapter every Thursday, but from here on out it's just a little less sure. I'll try my best though.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)


	5. Chapter 5

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

A/N: Here's chapter five, on time despite my earlier worries.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-/-

Chapter Five

Emma woke up slowly, blinking in confusion. She was somewhere very warm and very soft. She groaned, burying her face back into the pillow. Whatever time it was, was too early.

Wait a minute… Her bed was not particularly soft or warm. Where the heck was she? She shot up, her blonde hair in disarray.

As she surveyed the glamorous room around her, she slowly got her bearings, and remembered where she was. Right, the witch's castle. Her memories came flooding back.

Pongo coming home, travelling through the forest, searching the castle, finding David, meeting the witch, meeting Ruby and eating dinner.

After the witch had left, Ruby and a good number of other servants came out to have dinner as well. Ruby introduced her group of friends: the tea pot—her grandmother although everyone called her 'Granny', Archie—a cricket, Kathryn and Fredrick—both gold figurines, Henry—a stone statue, August—a puppet, and a group of seven garden gnomes.

They were all surprisingly nice and welcoming. While Emma still wasn't thrilled with being captured—at all—she was aware that things could be far, far worse—in fact, she'd been in worse situations. Situations where she had been in physical danger, alone, hungry, cold or some combination, if not all, of the above. If she could get through all that, she could make it through this.

Weight shifted on the bed and it took her a second to realize it wasn't hers. She turned quickly, nearly giving herself whiplash. She gave a sigh of relief when she recognized the black and white coat of Pongo. "Hey, boy," she said giving him a scratch behind the ears.

He had found her when she and Ruby were heading back from dinner as Emma couldn't find her rooms on her own. Emma had assumed Pongo had been sent back with David, but apparently not. She tried not to be too happy that he wasn't home with David, but she couldn't help it. It was too good to see a familiar face, er, muzzle. That reminded her, she should go see to Jaune too. She wondered if Philippe, the horse David had taken, was still here as well.

The witch said she had free range of the castle, right? Well, she was definitely going to take advantage of that. She whipped off the covers and stretched. She went over to the wardrobe, but it was still full of dresses, so she put her own clothes back on.

She was going to head straight out to see the horses, but her stomach gave a growl of protest and she realized that she had no idea where to look anyway. She was pretty sure she could find her way back to the dining hall and maybe from there she could find the kitchens. Surely, Ruby or someone could show her outside.

She was only halfway there when Ruby caught up with her.

"Hey Emma," she said cheerfully. "And Pongo," she added with an affectionate scratch on the head for him.

"Hey, Ruby." They began walking side-by-side—hopefully toward breakfast. "Do you know where my horse is? And David's?"

"Probably the stables." Emma gave the wolf-girl a look. "But you probably guessed that," she said with a laugh. "I don't usually go there—the horses don't like me." She leaned over as if confiding a secret, "I think it might be the whole 'part wolf' thing," she said with a grin.

"Maybe," Emma grinned back at her.

"But Henry loves the horses," Ruby continued. "He can take you over after breakfast."

"Awesome."

-x-x-x-x-

Breakfast was just as good as dinner. Emma could barely stop from overstuffing herself. Henry was only too happy to show her to the stables. He seemed the most excited out of all of them about having a visitor. Emma tried not to find his childish enthusiasm endearing and failed miserably. The kid was too cute for his own good.

He was practically skipping as he led her through the maze that was the castle, asking rapid fire questions and then not even giving her a chance to answer.

When he finally paused for a breath and looked at her eagerly, she couldn't resist and launched into a description of the city she was from. He was the perfect audience, hanging on to every word she said. By the time they actually reached the stables, he was looking at her as if she was coolest person in the world. She smiled proudly, glad he was so easily impressed—it certainly helped her ego.

Soon though, it was her turn to be impressed as they rounded the corner of the courtyard and before her stood a stable fit for, well, a Queen she supposed. She openly gaped at it. Henry smiled at her, and tugged her closer.

The stables were large and beautifully made, wonderful carvings of horses adorned the open doors with hinges polished to a brilliant shine. The castle looked well cared for, but these stables _shone_.

Henry was babbling again. "The stables are really cool, don't ya think? The workers here are always busy. Your horses are probably somewhere here, right? Where else would they have gone. I like the big black ones, but the white horses are neat too. I can't wait til I can ride them," for the first time his cheerful attitude faltered as he led her down a row of very fine horses. He frowned and she looked down at him in confusion. "I can't ride now cuz I'm too heavy."

Emma remembered that he was indeed a little stone statue and not a flesh and blood boy. He acted so like one she had almost forgotten. She supposed even a little stone boy was still made of stone. Her heart went out to him, "You can ride in a cart, though, right?"

He sighed, "I guess, but it's not the same."

Emma privately agreed. "Come on, help me find Juane. And Philippe came with David. You'll help me look, right?"

He nodded eagerly, "Yeah!"

-x-x-x-x-

It took them a good hour to find her horses. The stable wasn't just one building, but many and Henry kept stopping to point out things and she found herself surprised by the pure splendor of the place. Maybe it was a strange thing to say about the stables, but they were magnificent. Every bit of metal was polished to a mirror-like shine, every piece of leather was of the finest quality, and even the food troughs looked like they were marble.

Stranger still, were all the servants bustling about. The castle seemed so large compared to the admittedly good number of servants who had eaten dinner with them last night, after the witch left, but Emma had been surprised to hear that those were the only castle servants. It seemed too few to take care of the giant castle.

Here though, there were almost the same number of servants for the entire castle dedicated the stables. They all seemed to be life-size wooden puppets, scarecrows or strange stuffed mannequins—like those found in a dressmaker's shop. They were certainly a busy group, always cleaning out stalls, taking horses in and out and other general stable work. None of them said anything to her, but she could feel their eyes on her whenever she wasn't looking. She tried to tell herself it was just because she was new—and human—but it felt like more than that. She tried her best to ignore the oppressive feeling of being watched, but it was a challenge and very unnerving.

She couldn't relax until they finally found both of her horses, in stalls next to each other. Juane, naturally, merely looked at her as if wondering what had taken her so long. He looked right at home as he munched hay in his fancy stall and blew at Philippe next door as if to say 'I told you she'd find us'.

She quickly went in and greeted them, fussing over the familiar animals. Feeling much better for seeing them, she introduced Henry, who both animals found strange but accepted him once she introduced them.

She and Henry had a good time taking them out. They found a place to exercise them, a large corral. Henry cheered as she rode them around and a number of servants, while not stopping to stare, certainly seemed to walk past very slowly. Emma was able to put them out of her mind as they rode around, finally feeling like she had some control over her situation.

By the afternoon, she was starving and lunch had been sent out to them. They had a nice picnic before taking the horses back in for a rub down.

-x-x-x-x-

As Emma sat down to dinner, she grinned at the smells. God, the food here was awesome. Spending the day with Juane, and Henry, had relaxed her a great deal. Even the Queen's stony yet somehow disapproving silence didn't bother her much.

Emma was even more determined to make conversation than the night before; she wanted to find out everything she could about this place and the witch. "So, you're some kinda witch, right?"

Regina frowned. "I prefer sorceress. Or Queen," she added pointedly. "Witch is much more…derogatory."

"Right, cuz only upstanding people imprison people against their will."

The witch glared, which her purple eyes made particularly intimidating. "You broke into my castle."

"Well, you took my brother!"

"Who also trespassed on my lands! You're lucky I didn't incinerate him."

"Yeah, right." Emma called her bluff. Come on, transporting and throwing things around was one thing. But _incineration_? Melodramatic much.

As if sensing her guest's disbelief, the witch gave her a wicked grin. She held up a hand and made a strange gesture, as if she were holding something circular in her hand. Right as Emma was about to make a comment about the fact that nothing was there a large fireball appeared, completely engulfing the furred hand.

Emma immediately jumped back, "Holy shit!"

Regina smiled sweetly, "Would you prefer lightning?" Before Emma could say she was quite fine with the fire, the ball was replaced with purple lightning.

Emma leaned further back into her chair, breathing heavily, eyes locked onto the ball of lightning. A spark came off and landed on the table, leaving a small singe mark. Regina frowned and closed her hand, making it vanish.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Emma asked.

Regina chuckled darkly, "Wouldn't you like to know." Emma wanted to respond by saying, of course she wanted to know—that's why she asked—but the sight of the fire and lightning the witch had held casually in her hand was enough to make her hold her tongue.

The witch took a sip of wine, clearly enjoying the effect she'd had on the cocky blonde, "You know, you're rather talkative for a prisoner."

"And I would suppose you'd know all about that."

"I suppose I would."

Emma frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Had the witch imprisoned people before? And if so, what had happened to them? "You've, uh, had other prisoners here before?"

Regina raised an eyebrow, "Yes."

"And, uh, where are they now?"

"Gone."

"Gone?"

Now, she was beginning to tire of this conversation, she not liking the reminder of her past guests. "Yes," Regina snapped. "Gone."

That effectively ended the conversation for the rest of the night. Emma had tried to ask the servants about who she had been referring to, but they were closed lipped about it and all she'd been able to discover was that one was a man and one was a woman and they had been there at different times. No one would tell her anymore than that, not even what had happened to them.

-x-x-x-x-

The next day, Emma worked very hard not to dwell on her disturbing dreams of the witch setting faceless people on fire. Instead she spent another day at the stables, focusing on Juane and Henry in an attempt to keep calm. It mostly worked.

By the time dinner came around, the only visible sign of distress was a compulsive swallow when she sat down and a slightly more hesitant attitude.

Still, the silence bothered her more than what else she might learn, and Emma had never been one to quit while she was behind. "So, how come I've never heard of this place? Seems like it'd be kinda hard to conceal a giant magical castle."

"Magical is the operative word in your question. The castle exists in its own time stream."

Emma just stared at her.

The witch huffed before continuing. "Time passes differently here in than the castle than not. Many years have passed since it was…enchanted—about two hundred years, give or take."

Emma dropped her fork. "You've been like this for over two hundred years! How can anyone even live that long!"

"I said time passed differently. It has been more like thirty years for us in the castle. The castle…connects with the normal flow of time for a couple of years before…jumping forward in time a couple decades. Something to do with keeping us all exactly the same age for all of these years."

Emma gaped at her. She tried to sort through all she had just been told. "So….you've been like this for a while."

"Correct."

"And the castle is in some magical time lock thing and _nothing_ here ages."

"Yes."

Emma stamped down her terror. When the witch first told her she would have to stay here forever, she had thought that was said more for dramatic effect. Now it seemed as if it was actually possible.

Emma began looking around for anything to distract her from the claustrophobic feeling that was beginning to overwhelm her.

Instead, her gaze landed on the witch's plate. Suddenly she could see that it was full of meat so undercooked it looked red. Her gaze followed the piece the witch delicately brought to her mouth, skewering it with a claw and not a fork as she had first thought.

The small dot of red that came down her mouth was not in fact sauce as she had also expected, but blood.

Emma began to feel sick to her stomach. She gulped, it was all too much. "I'm sorry. I need to go." This time it was she who stood up and left abruptly—leaving her host staring after her in confusion.

What had that been all about?

-x-x-x-x-

The next morning Emma was preoccupied with the idea of never leaving this castle, of being stuck here for all eternity with its witch-beast mistress.

Granny had told Henry that he needed to help with things today and so it was just her and the horses. Honestly, it was a rather welcome break, Emma had always been more of a loner.

She moved far slower than normal, head spinning in circles until Juane finally had enough when she had saddled him wrong, and nearly stepped on her foot in protest.

Sheepishly, she was brought back to herself and decided what they both needed was a good long run. She'd seen what might have been some trails off to the side.

They set off exploring down a long trail. It was remarkably freeing, focusing just on herself and her horse. The path ended up looping back around to the castle with plenty of time before dinner.

The combination of the great ride and the long bath afterwards did a lot to make Emma feel like herself again. She headed to dinner refreshed and starving.

-x-x-x-x-

After all but attacking her own food for a solid number of minutes, Emma slowed down enough to start a conversation again. "So…Is this really your castle?"

"Excuse me." Regina looked affronted. First the blonde had left abruptly the previous night, then she'd all but ignored her for the first part of the meal—eating with rather atrocious manners, might she add—and now… "What is that supposed to imply?"

"Well, you're a witch." Emma shrugged as if that explained everything. "You could have just stolen the castle with, you know, magic."

Regina's face contorted in rage. How dare she! "This is my castle! I am the Queen by right, not because I'm some sort of thief."

"So like, your parents were the King and Queen before you?"

The witch gritted her teeth. "No."

"Then you did steal it," Emma said triumphantly.

"No," she snapped. "I did not. I was married to the King whose family ruled before him." Regina stabbed her food rather viciously; she hated thinking about her husband. Why did the stupid little blonde interloper have to bring him up?

"Oh…so what happened to him?" Emma looked around, as if the King might suddenly appear.

"He died." It was easily the coldest she had ever heard the witch's voice—and that was saying something. Emma shivered, why did she suddenly think his death had _not_ been accidental?

They ate the rest of their dinner in frigid silence.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So what's the deal with the King?" The Queen had left a few minutes ago and so the rest of the servants had come out to eat.

Her companions looked around uneasily. "Why do you ask?" Archie said slowly.

Emma shrugged, "When I asked at dinner it just seemed like there was a story there."

The group went dead silent. Ruby was the first to regain the ability to speak. "You asked her about the King?"

"Yeah…was that bad?" The looks on their faces answered her question for them. "Crap."

"It's alright," Granny tried to reassure her. "You didn't know any better. At least we'll know what to expect for the next few days. I should plan on making her favorites…"

Ruby answered Emma's unasked question. "The Queen hates being reminded of the King. It always puts her in a bad mood."

_You mean so far she's been in a _good_ mood?_ Emma thought with a shudder. "Why? What's the story here?"

The others exchanged looked. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you," Archie said before turning to Granny. "You remember it best."

"Alright." She cleared her throat and began, everyone giving her their full attention even though they all knew the story except for Emma. "There was a Queen before her, Queen Eva. Her and the King were deeply in love, but Queen Eva passed away before her time—in childbirth.

"The King was lost in sorrow for many years until he finally began to look for a new Queen. However, none were deemed worthy."

"Then one day, the King's horse spooked and went on a wild run. None could catch up and it was all the King could do to hold on. Then, out of nowhere, a beautiful young lady on her own horse caught up to them. She managed to slow his horse and pull him off safely.

"The woman was glad he was alright and got his horse back for him—not even knowing he was the King. Later that day, he came to her estate. The King proposed to her on the spot, given that she had saved his life and was the daughter of a distant royal from the south and a rich merchant's daughter; he knew would find no one better. They were married within a fortnight."

"They were married for a number of years until the King died." She hesitated for the first time and leaned forward, her voice lowering. "There were rumors that the Queen had something to do with it. That she may have poisoned him. These accusations were highlighted in the ensuing conflict over the throne. You see, they had no children and therefore who should rule was in dispute."

"The Queen asserted that it was her kingdom by right as Queen. But another faction of the court claimed the throne should go to the King's niece, Snow. With no children of his own, he had doted on the girl whenever she would visit—especially since his brother had married Queen Eva's sister and it was said Snow looked remarkably similar to the first Queen."

"Regardless of the reasons, she was the second daughter of a neighboring land to the north and without a throne of her own. There began first a political battle followed by a few rather violent skirmishes in disputed territory. Finally though, after over a year of conflict within and outside the court, the Queen came out victorious."

"Do you think she did it?" Emma had been utterly riveted by the tale. "Killed the King, I mean."

Granny frowned. "I don't know what I think. She has always been a great mystery, even before his death. And after she seemed more…fierce, certainly angrier. Still, I was simply an assistant housekeeper. Before the curse I'd seen her only from a distance and spoken to any of the royals only once. It's not our place to guess and make wild accusations. In fact, I think that's enough storytelling for tonight. Time for bed," she looked at Henry and August in particular.

When the boys began to protest Granny sent them a slightly pleading look. Emma got and stood up, stretching and yawning, "Yeah, come on Ruby—I'm beat."

Ruby caught on and yawned loudly as well. "Same. Night everyone."

They began to make their way to their rooms and could hear Granny cajoling the boys into bed over their yawning protests.

Once they were out of earshot, the pair grinned at each other, "I really am tired though," Emma admitted.

"I know, me too. Granny's stories always make me sleepy."

"Sooo," Emma drawled and Ruby looked over to her questioningly. "What do think happened?"

"You mean with the Queen and the King?"

Emma nodded.

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know, but I mean everyone saw the change in the Queen after the King died. Before she was practically part of the scenery. After, she took control of everything, started wearing black—supposedly for mourning—and tightened up on all the rules around here."

Ruby furrowed her brow, "I mean, she wasn't like skipping around happy or anything after his death—but she was very different and she did not seem particularly sad either. Personally," Ruby confided, "the part of the story I find strange is how the King's horse went wild when they just happened to be passing by the Queen's home and she just happened to be there to save him. I mean, the King was not a horse rider, that's true, but because of that he always got the most patient, almost dull, horses we had. A strange beast to go wild."

"So, what? You're saying you think the Queen purposely set herself up to save the King so he would ask to marry her?" Emma's thoughts were spinning at that insinuation, that the Queen had purposely lured the King to proposing and then killed him afterwards to become Queen herself.

Ruby shrugged again, "All I'm saying is that's a pretty big coincidence. No one here even knew the Queen until they'd been married, she brought no one from her own household. Both of her parents vanished as well—soon before the King died. And while now she's a beast, she's always been a witch."

They reached Emma's rooms then and exchanged quiet 'good nights' before Emma slipped through her door. She couldn't stop thinking about all she'd learned that day. Ruby clearly viewed this all as gossip, juicy gossip, but nothing too serious or much beyond a wild story. Emma on the other hand did not. It was one thing to be held by a rude, stuck-up queen. It was an entirely different story to be held by a manipulative witch who most likely murdered her husband that she may have tricked into marrying her in the first place!

She had been telling herself that this place was strange, but overall not very dangerous. Now though… She pictured the witch's sharp claws and sharper tongue, with her hypnotizing eyes and strange demands. Before it had been intimidating, but interesting. Now it was frightening and dangerous.

Emma's thoughts swirled for the rest of the night and she barely got any sleep.

-/-

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. It was originally going to have more in it, but then this part ended up as long as it did, so the chapter had to be split in two. I hope it still works and everything. Let me know and thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

A/N: Sorry this update is being posted late today and sorry it's kinda short. It almost wasn't done at all, but I managed to finish it in time.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

-/-

Chapter Six

"So what exactly was this war like? I've never heard of it so it couldn't have been that serious." Emma asked, purposefully casual as she ate lunch with Ruby, Granny, and Archie the next day.

Granny gave her a disapproving look, "It was very serious, but it was long ago for the rest of the world and you are young."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, we lost a lot of people on both sides. There were a bunch of battles, magic on both sides."

"Really?" Emma asked.

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, the Queen felt very strongly about the war and to make sure she was victorious, she often fought on the front lines."

Emma's eyebrows went up. "Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

"Yes," Archie said, "but despite advisors telling her she needn't be so close to the danger, she wouldn't listen."

Granny shook her head, "You young people always feel so invincible. It was only luck that she managed to survive."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "It wasn't luck. It was magic. The Queen is formidable. She probably took out over a quarter of all the rebels all on her own."

Emma's jaw dropped, "Geez. How strong is she?"

Granny frowned, "She's one of the strongest witches I've ever heard of and after the war, everyone knew it. Between her victories in battle and then all the executions after—no one questioned her right to rule anywhere they thought she might hear of it."

Emma swallowed, "Executions?"

Archie nodded gravely, "Yes, a number of people in our land decided to support Princess Snow of the White Kingdom's claim to the throne. When the initial contest was still political, they had the opportunity to move to the White Kingdom to live and wait out for who would end up ruling. After actual fighting broke out though, the Queen imprisoned anyone who opposed her own rule. Once the war was at its peak, she began rounding up serious dissenters and spies and having them executed."

Emma's eyes widened. Archie nodded and continued, "She then rewarded the ones who stayed loyal to her with the lands of the ones who disagreed. The few who lived after the war was finished were stripped of titles, if they had any, and banished."

"Our land has not had such a great upset in centuries. It was a very frightening time—never knowing who would still be around and who would end up hanging."

"That's horrible." Emma was shocked. So far she'd only really read about war in books, but these people had lived it. The kingdom she lived in previously hadn't itself been to war in decades. Sure, there were fights and such in the city, but war? She shuddered; rulers to her were mainly faceless people in fancy clothes, but here… She knew exactly who it was, cold purple eyes shining in her mind.

Ruby seemed to pick up on Emma's discomfort, "But that was a long time ago. No more war, no more executions. No one's died here since the curse."

Emma smiled at the effort, but excused herself anyway. She wasn't very hungry anymore.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So," Emma began at dinner, "some of the people here were telling me about the war."

Regina looked at her skeptically, "Really?"

Emma frowned, "Yeah, why?"

Regina just scoffed and gave a small shrug, "People shouldn't talk about things they don't understand."

"What do you mean 'not understand'?" Emma asked. "They were there!"

"That's all you think here is to it? They were alive while it happened?" Regina rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm sure the cook and the bug are very well informed about the war. Tell me, where did they serve? What battles did they fight in?"

Emma scowled. "Just because they didn't fight in it doesn't mean they can't know about it and understand what happened."

"Hm," was the Queen said as she leaned back on her throne, sipping her wine. "I'm sure."

"Well then you tell me, if you're so smart." Emma inwardly winced when she realized what she'd said. Oh no, that was not going to go over well.

Sure enough, the Queen stiffened straight up in her chair and glared at Emma so fiercely she had to resist the urge to make sure she wasn't on fire. "Do you ever think before you speak? You know nothing about my kingdom or my war and neither do I owe you any sort of explanation," she spat. "All you need to remember is that you are trapped here. You so quickly forget that I am the Queen and you are the prisoner. Do not forget your place!"

Emma glared at her, but kept her mouth shut.

"Now you remember." Regina snarled, standing up, suddenly seeming much larger than she had before as she began to give off a purple glow. "Insolent little girl." Her voice was dripping with contempt and it was that tone that made Emma stand up, unable to stop herself from fighting back, but the witch was already gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Later that night, Emma was having trouble getting to sleep, until she finally threw off her covers and started to pace. This situation was starting to get more dire by the second. She could not stay trapped at this castle with some crazy witch for the rest of her life!

The room began making her feel claustrophobic and so she decided to take a walk. Only when she got to the door, it was locked. Emma frowned and pulled, but it didn't budge. Trying not to panic, she grabbed her lock picks. She began working on the lock when suddenly the picks grew hot. She dropped them with a yelp and as she shook out her hand, she saw them on the ground, half melted.

Emma gave up all semblance of calm and began banging loudly on the door, trying to knock it down, as she shouted for someone to come.

No one did.

Eventually she collapsed, hands numb from hitting the door and her shoulder screaming from the number of times she slammed into the door, trying in vain to break it down. She curled up in front of it, tears running down her face until she fell asleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Despite Emma's very late night, she still woke up at her usual time, sun rather insistent. Her hands and shoulder were still sore, but manageable. She tried very hard to push her memories of last night to the back of her mind and went about as if everything was normal.

When she went to leave that morning, the door opened easily. She was rather quiet at breakfast but no one said anything.

Henry didn't seem to even notice her silence was unusual as he chattered on. She could barely focus on what he was saying when it finally cut through her cloud of thoughts.

"—so you're gonna save us from the curse! I know it!" Henry said excitedly.

"Um…wait, what?"

"You know, the curse on the castle. You're the Savior, aren't you?" he looked up at her with stone eyes that seemed to plead.

"Look, kid, I'm no Savior," Emma began to feel nervous, she couldn't save anyone—she couldn't even save herself. She was just a street kid from the city. Emma was nobody.

He gave her a look like she was purposely being slow, "Yes, you are. You're destined to come and break the curse—setting all of us free. You're the Savior."

"I don't wanna burst your bubble, but I'm really not here to save anyone. I was captured and am being held against my will, remember?" She couldn't even leave her room at night. There was a reason Emma was only responsible for herself, she couldn't handle anyone else—she could only barely take care of herself, something her current situation brought into question. She'd only let someone else down.

Henry didn't even seem to hear her, "You'll see. Just ask Granny. She knows too."

Emma just shook her head and continued walking.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Emma came back in for lunch by herself, not wanting to let on how unsettled the kid's words had made her. Still, she couldn't help ask, "Do you know why Henry keeps saying I'm some kinda 'savior'?"

Granny nearly spilled the tea she'd been pouring for Emma.

Emma blinked in surprise, "You do know what he's talking about."

"Yes, well." She began fussing with the tea trays and barking orders at the stove. "It's really nothing."

Emma crossed her arms, "Try again."

Granny sighed, "Alright. As you've noticed, this castle is enchanted."

Emma rolled her eyes, well duh. Then she frowned. "But it's not 'enchanted', is it? It's cursed. That's why you're all like this."

Granny managed to nod, "Yes. The castle and all its inhabitants were all cursed from their human forms and into these strange ones. About thirty years ago."

"Right, she had said something like that… the witch is cursed too."

"Yes, she's the one who is truly cursed, we were cursed with her because we lived in her castle. She, like all of us, used to be human, though still a powerful sorceress."

"Why? Who cursed you?"

"Truthfully, we don't know much as the Queen won't talk about it. But we have been able to piece together a story."

Granny cleared her throat, "Once upon a time, an old woman came to the castle, looking for a place to stay for it was a frigid and stormy night. However, the Queen refused to let her and sent her off despite the weather because the poor woman had nothing to offer to her, but a single apple."

"After failing to persuade the Queen to let her stay, the old woman revealed herself to be the Blue Fairy. She condemned the Queen for being selfish, prideful, greedy, and cruel, and so she cursed the Queen into a bizarre creature—too make her as twisted on the outside as she was on the inside. She trapped her on her own lands for the rest of her days, doomed to a life of misery that she had inflicted upon herself."

"Wow," Emma said. "Kind of an overreaction."

Granny shrugged, "Possibly, the Queen could simply have let her stay as well. There is probably more to the story that'll we'll never know. The nobility were cursed into portraits and a large number of the staff changed into non sentient animals or objects. Only a few of us remained able to keep the castle running."

"But why does Henry think, I'm gonna like, save everyone or something?"

"Well, he most likely believes you're here to break the curse and free us all." Granny wouldn't meet her eyes now, probably on purpose.

"What?! How the hell would I be able to do that? I don't have magic, I can't break some curse that was cast before I was even born!" Emma stood back from the table hastily.

"It's alright, no one besides the boys think so." Granny said, trying to reassure the blonde.

She seemed to see how upset this was making Emma, and was trying to calm her down, but Emma could tell she was lying. She did believe Emma could save them all, and if Granny believed, everyone else probably did too. Emma tried to calm her racing heart down. "I have to go."

-x-x-x-x-x-

When Emma showed up at dinner that night, she was unusually subdued. She kept her attention focused on her plate, barely looking up.

Regina frowned at the strange attitude of her guest. She was already in a foul mood—it was the anniversary of that day—she almost hadn't come to dinner. She had a rather bad habit of wanting everyone else to be as aggravated as she was so she sneered, "What? No pointless questions tonight?"

Emma automatically looked up with a glare, "What's so pointless about trying to find out more about the person imprisoning me in some crazy magical castle?"

Regina returned the glare, "You should consider yourself lucky I'm even allowing you to live, let alone as well as you are."

"What? I should be _grateful_ for that? Oh yeah, thank you _so_ much, _your majesty_, for not killing me on the spot for no reason and allowing me to be trapped in this godforsaken place for all eternity!" Emma was breathing heavily as she glared at the witch across from her.

"You are such an ignorant child!" Regina spat. "I can still change my mind, you know? Perhaps you'd prefer a cell!"

"God, you are such a bitch!" Emma leapt to her feet, slamming her hands down onto the table with a loud crash as dishes clanged together.

At that, Regina stood up as well, bending over the table, so that her face was only a few inches from Emma's own. "And you, Miss Swan," she hissed, eyes glaring daggers, "are an uncouth, barbarian with no sense, self preservation, or dignity who insists upon being an overwhelming fool who can't seem to keep her mouth shut and clearly has a death wish!"

Emma was actually rather shocked by the number insults that had just been leveled at her.

Regina leaned back slightly, "I have no desire to stay in the company of such a person. Do not test my patience further for you are very close to the edge of a very high cliff." She punctuated that last word with a magical shove that landed her back in her seat, before the witch vanished in a cloud of smoke that left behind the smell of burned wood.

Emma stared at the spot where the witch had stood before standing up again, still full of pent up frustration and marched from the dining hall, ignoring Ruby's calls for her to come back.

The nerve of that witch. Emma hated how she always just left whenever they started to argue, it always left her feeling tense and frustrated. And how dare she use magic against Emma, shoving her around! Emma stormed around, no destination in mind. However as her anger left her, the unsettled fear that had been building came back.

She tried to shake it off, but that didn't help and she began to realize she had nowhere to go, nowhere to escape to.

And as the feeling of being trapped intensified, Emma Swan did what she usually did when things started to spin out of control. She decided to do something reckless and dangerous, something like changing her direction and veering right at the landing of the stairs—straight into the West Wing.

-/-

A/N: I hope that wasn't completely horrible. I just had a lot of issues with this particular chapter, from content to getting it done in time. The next chapter should be better, I promise.

As always, I love reviews. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

A/N: I'm sorry this has taken so long to come. My life kinda kicked into high gear suddenly with a ton of family stuff and any spare minute was filled with writers block. Then after I finally go it down, my beta was super busy and then FF wouldn't let me edit things for the past few days (had to switch computers and browsers just to get it up as it is) I hope this chapter helps make up for it though. Sorry for such a long wait.

-/-

Chapter Seven

Emma was glad she had grabbed a torch at the last second because this part of the castle seemed particularly dark. Ever since she'd been to dinner the first night, the candles and torches lit up for her when she walked around the castle—except here.

That was probably a good thing, though, because a lot of the candelabras were knocked over or missing candlesticks. There was a surprising amount of dust in this part, unlike the rest of the castle. Maybe no one, not just her, was allowed over here. But why would the servants be banned from one part of the castle?

Emma frowned as she slowly walked down the dark and desolate corridor, her footsteps making almost no noise due to the thick carpet. She shivered; it was also much colder than the rest of the castle. The castle was strange, but once she had met the servants it was fairly obvious it wasn't abandoned like she had first assumed. The West Wing though…it felt haunted.

The corridor ended in a large, rectangular room. The walls all down the length of it were covered paintings and tapestries. Emma moved closer. Men seemed to be on the right and women on the left—perhaps the ones across from each other were couples?

There seemed to be a resemblance between many of them, dark brown hair, a stern look, something about the nose… They were definitely nobles of some sort, the rich dress was evident of that. She wasn't sure she liked the look of the family, though. Something in their hazel eyes was just a bit to unyielding for Emma's taste, a bit too much pride in their eyes, like they never forgot for a even second they were nobles. She knew that type, the ones who put titles before people. She always made sure to stay away from ones like that in the city.

The tapestries were very well made, interspersed every two or three portraits. They seemed to depict particularly dramatic scenes and she thought it might look like they featured a person or two from the portraits they were near.

Emma skipped around the room, focusing more on the tapestries than the portraits. It was only when she got to the end that something broke the pattern and organization of the room.

She gasped in surprise when the last few pieces of art came into view. These portraits and tapestries had been _attacked_. There was no other word for it. Deep claw marks obscured the man's face in each of the next three portraits although she was pretty sure that they were of the same man, perhaps the last of the line?

She looked across to the woman's portrait opposite and saw that that one was on the floor, ripped from the wall and with a large whole where the face should be. She bent to pick it up, frowning at the coating of dust, turning it over she couldn't make out anything beyond that the woman was dark haired and most likely very beautiful.

The next portrait of a woman bore claw marks, like the man's had, but Emma was pretty sure this was a different woman, her skin was tanner than the previous woman's. The claw marks had destroyed much of the picture, but her eyes… Dark chocolate eyes, stared out from the painting. The look in them was different than the other gazes that had followed her around this room. It wasn't proud or haughty or triumphant like most of those had been, these eyes were full of sorrow and loneliness, the sort of sorrow that made Emma want to reach out to comfort her.

Emma averted her eyes, as if the woman's pain was a private thing she shouldn't be witnessing. The tapestry beside her was ripped, the bottom three-fourths gone leaving only the tops of some trees and the sky. She lightly brought her hand up, skimming the ragged edges, before going back to the other side of the room.

Next to the ripped portrait was another, possibly the same man but older—it was hard to tell as the last few men had looked very similar. This one was burned; the paint had bubbled in some areas and was charred in others. Only the outer edge of a head could be seen, the graying hair making her think it was the same man only older.

The final tapestry on that side had long rips through it, slashes almost, as if some creature with very sharp nails had attempted to shred it. Emma shivered once more.

She left the room, grateful to leave it behind. She was beginning to regret coming here, but was far too curious and stubborn to turn back just because the décor was a little frightening. What was the reason this part of the castle was off limits? Because the queen hated some ruined paintings? Emma paused suddenly—of course, _she_ was the one who had ruined them. A mental image of those claws appeared to her and she thought of the destruction they had havocked on the art work. She tried not to imagine them doing the same to her flesh.

She continued down this hallway, wishing her torch didn't proclaim her presence so loudly, but knowing she couldn't find her way in the dark without it.

Of course, just as she thought that, she thought she saw some sort of light near the end of the hallway. She froze, before noticing the blue-ish tint to the light was more characteristic of a window and light from the moon than a torch like her own (or a fire ball). She slowly made her way towards it, realizing she had not passed a single window the entire time she'd been in this part of the castle.

The light was coming, not through a window, but an archway that led to a small open courtyard. The moon was full and bright, so she set her torch in an iron holder mounted on the inside wall. The courtyard was actually pretty nice. It had a large apple tree in the middle surrounded by a bench to sit on. It was peaceful and the castle walls protected it from any harsh winds, leaving only a light breeze to rustle the leaves of the tree.

Emma moved to sit on the bench, looking up at the tree. Emma was pretty sure there shouldn't be any apples on it this time of year, but there were a couple hanging from the branches. They looked bright red and shiny, no bruises she could see.

Her stomach saw fit to remind her she had left dinner rather hurriedly and she reached up to grab one, an apple sounding pretty perfect right now.

Just as her hand closed around one of the red fruits, an animalistic roar made her jump back, the apple swinging slightly from its stem. The blonde looked around wildly for the source of the sound. Finally her eyes fixed on a pair of purple ones glaring from the shadows on the other side of the courtyard.

The witch stalked into view, fury evident in every muscle as she bared her teeth at the caught off guard blonde. "What do you think you're doing?" her voice was low and deadly.

Emma gulped, "I—I just…"

The sound of her trying to justify herself seemed to set the witch off. "NO!" She was suddenly much closer, only a foot or two from the circular bench, the tree all that was between them. "I told you to stay out of here! This was the only place I did not give you permission to wander! The rest of the castle—a most generous offer—and yet, not good enough for you, you silly little upstart!"

Emma started to back up, one step at a time as the witch prowled around the center tree. This had been a bad idea, a horrible, horrible, idea. The witch had scared her before for brief moments, but now Emma was terrified. The witch's voice was more commanding and condemning than ever before. Her eyes were glowing even more brightly and sinisterly than ever before and she was in fact giving off sparks!

The witch continued her tirade, her rage consuming her, "You come into my private wing, sneaking around, violating my personal courtyard! And then you attempt to steal from me! And not just anything, but one of my precious apples, which I value above all else!"

"I—I didn't mean—" Emma tried to defend herself, but she seemed unable to speak, unable to think. Adrenaline raced through her, urging her to flee and yet the witch's powerful gaze kept her frozen in place.

"You didn't mean to come here? The West Wing has only one entrance—the one I specifically forbade you from entering! Do not lie! You came here on purpose! Now you will leave! Get out! GET OUT!" She roared, further incensed by the blonde's feeble attempts to placate her.

A fireball grew in her palm and she threw it at the blonde. Emma yelped, ducking. She could feel its heat as it seared over her. She kept her eyes on the witch as she stumbled back, nearly tripping over her own feet. Another fireball zoomed at her and she moved hastily to the side as it burst on the stone wall of the castle.

A final burst of fire flew past her as she finally made it back into the hallway. Once inside, she managed to make herself turn around as she sprinted through the dark, not even managing to grab her dying torch.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It wasn't long after she had heard the large gate swing shut behind her with a loud and ominous clang that she began to regret her hasty and reckless departure.

She had raced blindly through the, thankfully straight, corridor of the West Wing, all the way back to the rest of the castle. But she hadn't stopped running there. She had continued until she'd reached her rooms where she threw open her door, grabbed her cloaked and left. Her sides had been on fire when she finally made it to Juane's stall, but she didn't even pause, panting as she saddled him up. They had left in a thunder of hooves, Juane picking up on her distressed state. They didn't slow until they had reached the woods on the other side of the gate.

The forest was far darker and more sinister than she had remembered—and it had seemed frightful enough in her memories. She really should have waited until daytime to run away. The moon was up, she knew, but a strange, thick fog obscured it, leaving the sky a vague grey.

She pulled her cloak more tightly around herself, and hunched closer to Juane. He too seemed to suddenly be unsure about what they were doing. She could feel the tension in him, his head jerking slightly as they ran down the path she could only barely see through the fog.

Strange noises distracted her as she tried to keep her scattered thoughts together. She tried to remember what direction she had originally come from, how she had found the castle in the first place, but her mind was uncooperative and could only recall the haziest notions. On top of that, the image of the furious witch still haunted her mind, a thrill of terror still lingering in the back of her mind. However, it was quickly being replaced by fear of what would happen now that she had managed to escape, how she would be able to get home and what was hiding in the mist, the noises getting closer as strange shapes and shadows moved in the distance.

She had only traveled into the woods for a few minutes when she first heard the distinctive growl. It was then yellow eyes peered at her from the distance, hungry eyes. She instantly set off in the opposite direction, only to find a similar pair of eyes. Fear shot through her as she finally identified the creatures that were slowly closing in around her: wolves.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Regina sat on the bench around her apple tree as she tried to collect herself. The girl had caught her off guard, her already foul mood had simply exploded at the sight of her reaching to take an apple from her most precious tree. She softly stroked its trunk, relieved she had gotten here before any of its fruit had been plundered. It was not just that she had cared for the tree since she was young. When the curse had been cast, it had been anchored to her tree, mainly for its connection to her and so any tampering with it could drastically throw things out of balance in her castle.

She sighed, she supposed Miss Swan couldn't have known better, but she still should not have been here. Could the woman not grasp even the simplest of rules?

The confrontation had helped her let off some steam though and she actually felt more herself than she had all day and as such, regret was beginning to build in her mind. She had not meant to lose her temper so. She tried to keep a tight rein on it over these past years because the curse had a magnifying effect on her anger.

Regina had always had a temper, that was true, but it was never quite so devastating as it had become after she had been turned into this beast. Her magic got out of control, building up within her until she had to let it out, the rage blinding her to everything else going on. She had not had it overwhelm her so since the first few years of the curse.

Emma Swan just had a way of getting under her skin.

As she took a number of deep breaths, a strange feeling of dread began to build within her. Her senses suddenly sharpened as she tried to identify what the source was.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

-x-x-x-x-x-

At first it seemed like they might be able to out run the wolves, until one jumped out in front of the pair causing Juane to rear suddenly. Emma was unprepared and fell off while Juane bolted, her eyes rolling in her head. He had managed to give a very hard kick to the wolf that had startled him and it lay in the ground unmoving, but that still left the rest of the pack.

Emma shook her head and scrambled to her feet, fear surging through her. People she could fight and had fought before, but animals? That was not something she could even hope to handle, particularly these creatures. As Emma crashed through the undergrowth she couldn't help but notice that these wolves seemed particularly vicious and smart, the way they had surrounded them before closing in. She wasn't an expert but she was pretty sure they were no ordinary wolves.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Regina strode into her chambers quickly, "Mirror. Show me Emma Swan." A picture appeared in the glass and her brow furrowed in confusion and then surprise. "That foolish girl…"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Emma ended up with her back against a sheer cliff wall, brandishing a large tree branch she had grabbed as a weapon. She spared a glance up and saw there was no way to climb. She cursed herself for not having a weapon bigger than her dagger. She swung at the wolf that jumped at her. There was a loud crack and a big piece of her branch broke off. She stared at it in dismay.

The wolves seemed to grin, as if they realized their prey was now truly theirs for the taking. They all moved closer, but one particularly big one came the closest, growling low in its throat when a form burst into the clearing and with a powerful strike batted it into a tree. It hit with a yelp and the rest of the wolves stopped in confusion.

A fierce challenging snarl came from her protector. As Emma took the figure in, she realized with a shock that it was the witch. What on earth was she doing here? Emma could barely comprehend what she was seeing, but she had certainly never been so grateful to see the Queen in her life.

The wolves got over their surprise quicker and seemed to grow angry, all releasing a deep growl as their fallen brother got back up. They moved to attack, sharp teeth bared. Regina's own teeth glinted in the moonlight as she sent purple lightning bolts at those at the back of the pack until they were all too close. She bodily threw back and clawed any that got within a few feet of her, demonstrating her fearsome strength. She was animalistic in her attacks, crouching low to the ground, battling ferociously.

It was a gruesome and bloody fight, but eventually most of the wolves had been slain and the remaining driven away. As the last one fled with a whimper, Regina remained crouched in a battle stance, ready to take on any others. Emma cautiously moved forward. "Regina?"

Emma went over to her and carefully placed a hand on the queen's shoulder, turning her to face her. Regina stiffened at the contact, but didn't turn away. Emma was briefly trapped in her purple gaze, as always, before she dragged her eyes away. She gasped as she took the sorceress in. Her outfit was torn and ripped in many places. Blood coated her fur and her arms had a set of deep cuts in them. "Regina…" she breathed again, this time in true concern.

Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she attempted to snap. "Just a little…." She tried to continue before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped forward against Emma.

"Regina? Regina! Oh, shit," the blonde said as she tried to wake the brunette and get a better grip on her. But the sorceress's eyes remained shut.

-/-

A/N: There you go, once again sorry for the delay. I really hope it doesn't happen again. Thanks for being patient and reading.


	8. Chapter 8

The Swan and the Witch

Story Summary: Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: So sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, but its finally here. Enjoy.

-/-

**Chapter Eight**

Luckily for the blonde, Jaune overcame his panic and had come back to find Emma. While it made him nervous, he let her drape Regina over his back to carry back to the castle.

When they returned, the servants were astonished at the state the pair was in—they were even surprisingly worried about their Queen. Emma and Granny managed to come up with everything they needed to help patch the prickly sorceress up.

Ruby and Emma had been able to move her into what Ruby told Emma was Regina's favorite sitting room. She had been laid out on the lounge chair, while Emma got everything together needed to bandage her wounds. They all agreed that it was best Emma do so, as none of the rest of them really had very dexterous fingers (or fingers at all in most cases) and left her to it. Just as Emma was about to start cleaning the claw marks, Regina awoke.

The sorceress let out a groan, a hand coming up to her head. What had happened?

"Hey," Emma said cautiously.

Regina jerked away from the sound, obviously disoriented and confused about where she was and who Emma was. Emma stayed perfectly still, as if Regina was a skittish horse, and gave her space.

Quickly, Regina realized the situation; slowly losing her tense posture as she blinked in surprise at the blonde crouched at her side. Right, she had seen the blonde being chased by the demonic wolves that guarded the border of her cursed lands from the rest of the world and had gone to fetch her. "Miss Swan," she said slowly. "You are uninjured?" She tried to put on her usual inscrutable mask, sitting stiffly, trying to act like nothing unusual had happened.

Emma raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Am _I_ okay? I'm not the one who took on a pack of crazy wolves by myself."

Regina scoffed, "You're only the one who provoked them into attacking. Besides, they were nothing."

"Oh, really?" Emma asked, skeptically, "Then what're those then?" She nodded to Regina's arms where deep gouges remained from the attack.

Regina looked down, her eyes widening a bit in surprise, the pain suddenly making itself known, but she still tried to play it off, "Merely a few scratches. Now, if you are alright, you may leave me."

Emma stared at her. The witch really was crazy if she thought Emma wouldn't help her after she had gotten herself injured because of her. "Yeah, right. I'm not going anywhere."

Regina's eyes narrowed as she bristled at the outright refusal. "Miss Swan—!"

"Don't you 'Miss Swan' me," Emma soaked the towel and made as if to press it against Regina's right arm.

Regina hissed, pulling away from her, "Stop. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes, "Obviously. But seeing as you're hurt," she talked faster when she saw Regina opening her mouth to object, "and I'm not and it's my fault you're hurt, I insist on helping." Regina glared and continued to sit very stiffly, but she moved back to the middle of the seat instead of pressed against the opposite arm.

"Both your arms are injured, so it will hurt to use them to clean your wounds. It won't hurt me at all though." Regina still didn't respond, continuing to look at the blonde with suspicious eyes, as if she must have an ulterior motive, but made no more moves to get away.

Emma slowly moved the cloth closer and, as gently as she could, pressed it to the claw marks. Regina let her, her eyes never leaving the blonde's face and while she made no movements, she couldn't control the hiss that escaped at the pressure on her wounds.

The cloth came away red and Emma dipped it back in the water, staining it a light pink. The wounds were pretty deep, she noticed as she carefully cleaned them. They had to be very painful, her esteem of the queen growing as she remained still and refused to make another sound.

The silence was starting to get to Emma though; the intense stare the sorceress was aiming at her was making it hard to resist the urge to fidget. She asked the first question that popped into her head. "How come you can't just, you know, heal yourself or something? With, like, magic?"

"I don't have that kind of magic. I might be able to manage a scratch, but not something like this." Regina said it as detached as she could, as if it was a weakness she didn't want to be admitting to, which perhaps to her it was. It didn't take a genius to realize that Regina was very uncomfortable with receiving help or admitting she was hurt.

Emma carefully tended to the wounds while Regina sat as still a statue. "Why did you save me?" Emma couldn't keep the question in any longer. The Queen had been completely furious with her when she had last seen her; then she appeared out of the blue and practically put her life on the line for her. Regina had no reason to help her and yet she put herself in danger just for her. Only David had done so in her entire life.

Regina's eyes flickered over to the blonde who kept her own gaze intent on her task as if she knew looking her in the eye would make Regina too self-conscious to answer. Regina sighed and looked back to the fire. "You are under my protection."

Emma glanced up at her in confusion, but Regina continued to stare into the flames.

"When I took you in here, you became a part of my castle, my people. That means your safety is my responsibility. That is the duty of a Queen. You were on my lands, one of my people, and you were in danger. That means it was up to me to make sure nothing happened to you."

Emma blinked at the surprisingly moving statement, as she began to wrap the bandages around her left arm; it spoke of an unusual sort of loyalty that Emma was surprised the Queen possessed. Nothing she witnessed so far really spoke to a side of the Queen that was…protective the way the statement implied. She supposed that making sure her people were cared for and giving Emma the rooms she had—as well as the freedom of the castle grounds did speak to a sort of graciousness that the Queen did not obviously demonstrate.

She had such a sharp tongue, but when Emma considered her actions only and with this recent rescue she found that the Queen's actions were actually rather upstanding. Although her attitude could still use some major improving.

"This amount of…" Regina began. "I'll heal in a few days at the most."

"I thought you said you couldn't use magic to heal yourself."

"I can't," she said blandly. "However, one of the traits of my cursed form is rapid recovery from physical injuries."

Emma wasn't really sure how that wasn't magic, but commented on the other part of that sentence. "So it's true. You really are cursed." Emma wanted to finally get a straight answer from the witch about what exactly was going on in this castle.

Regina let out a brittle laugh, "Oh, I'm cursed alright. What story did you hear?"

Emma fidgeted a moment before relaying the story she'd been told. After she'd finished, she moved to Regina's other side to clean and wrap her other arm.

Regina seemed unconcerned and unsurprised at the less than charitable descriptions of her character. "Yes, that is the popular version of the tale."

"You mean there's another?" Emma figured challenging Regina to contradict the version she'd heard was the best way to get her to tell her her side.

"There is another side to every story," Regina said.

"So, what's the other story?"

Regina met her eyes firmly, clearly weighing her worth. Emma returned the gaze squarely, trying to let her genuine curiosity shine through. The Queen turned away before she began, speaking as though the story was not her own. "Once there was a young Queen. She had been through many heartaches and troubles in her days and so she did not trust easily. She was a terror to her enemies, fair, though strict, to those who proved themselves loyal to her. Soon after a hard won war had ended, an old woman came to her castle, claiming to seek a place to stay. However, the Queen was well versed in magic, being a sorceress herself, and knew that she wasn't who she claimed to be. She refused the woman a place to stay.

The old woman then revealed herself to be the Blue Fairy, who had allied with the Queen's enemies many times. Now believing the rumors of the Queen's cruelty to be true and incensed at having been turned away, she cursed the Queen into a hybrid creature that none could look upon without fear and disgust; condemning the Queen and all her loyal subjects to be trapped in her lands and to remain there for the rest of time—alone, feared and isolated."

Even Emma had heard of the Blue Fairy, she cropped up in a number of legends, however… "But….I thought the Blue Fairy was a force for good. Why would she…?"

"Good?" Regina sneered, contempt in her voice. "She's good alright, but she takes that to mean she can do no wrong, make no error. She is self-righteous and unmovable in her convictions. Unable to think she can be mistaken. Everyone is wrong sometimes, even _good_ fairies."

"I am not a nice person and I was harsh when I turned her away. I'm not disputing that. But not being polite doesn't mean bad. It does not make me evil. It does not give her the right to curse me and all my people to this endless, meaningless life. Surely, Miss Swan, you are aware of what _good_ people can do. Who punishes the innocent with the guilty? Who holds others accountable for one person's mistake?"

Emma frowned, that was a very good point. She always hated group punishments, a favorite tactic at one of the many orphanages she'd been moved around between in the city, and it was especially bad if the Blue Fairy had believed Regina was so bad and still cursed a bunch of other people to be stuck with her forever even though they hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Emma also knew how hard it was to trust people and let them in, even if they had the best of intentions. How long had it taken for her to stop thinking David had an ulterior motive whenever he tried to help her? Months? Years really. She could see how Regina's side made sense, for all that she'd probably been unnecessarily rude—that seemed to be her M.O. after all.

This wasn't the entire story though. "And what part of this whole thing makes Henry think I'm some kind of savior?"

Regina blinked in surprise, Emma had done even more digging than she had initially realized. "He is a young child," Regina dismissed with a wave of her hand and a slight shrug, trying to brush it off. "They are always looking for heroes."

Emma slowly shook her head, "He said it, but…I think some of the others believe it too."

Regina sighed; she had hoped that this wouldn't come up with the blonde herself, at least not so directly or so soon. She had hoped her staff could be more discreet than that, false hope apparently. Obviously she had forgotten who she was dealing with, "There is, supposedly, a clause in the curse—the same that is in all curses." Emma continued to stare at her blankly. "True love's kiss."

"Oh…" Emma blushed and had no idea how to respond, suddenly fascinated by everything in the room besides the witch.

Regina rolled her eyes at the response. "It's alright, dear. No need to worry—I know that it's not possible. I won't make you kiss me."

Emma felt some relief at that, at least Regina didn't expect her to be her savior. She shoved the tiny niggle of disappointment (and slight annoyance at the Queen's obvious dismissal of her possibly being this 'savior') to the farthest corner of her mind. She frowned, "What do you mean?"

Regina looked at her questioningly, figuring the girl would be relieved. "I mean," Emma clarified, "You seem to be implying that you don't think anyone could save you."

"I am. No one can."

"But…can't anyone find true love?" Emma wasn't a hopeless romantic, but she would like to believe some day she might find someone who understood and accepted and loved her. Wasn't that what a true love was? Not a specific person, but a shared, true, love between two people who understood each other.

Regina looked surprised to hear the blonde say such a thing. She stared at her intensely before looking away. "I had a true love once. He was killed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Emma really hadn't expected that. Her discomfort with the situation she suddenly found herself in—the conversation having gotten rather personal, rather abruptly—caused her to continue to speak, as if to make up for stepping on the conversational land mine. "Was it the King? I—"

"No!" Regina whipped around. "Not _him_! Don't you dare mention the two in the same breath!"

Emma had somehow made an even bigger mistake. Stupid foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. "I'm sor—"

"You better be! Daniel was nothing like him!" Regina spat, her eyes full of purple fire—literally.

"I'm sorry!" Emma held her hands up in surrender, trying to placate the incensed witch.

Regina blinked and seemed to realize what she had been doing. She visibly collected herself, clearly trying to calm herself. She sat back down, unaware she had even gotten to her feet. "I apologize, Miss Swan," she smoothed the front of her dress down with her bandaged arm. "It is seems this is still a sore a subject for me, even after all these years. My love was nothing like the man I was forc—like the man I married. I loved him before that, when I was young."

Emma could see she was trying to make up for her outburst by sharing—something she obviously found difficult to do consciously. Emma was more concerned with her own reactions; it was strange to be at once frightened by the other woman's temper and drawn to her at the same time. Regina's pain seemed to radiate from her when she spoke of both her former husband and her love, but now Emma could see that each was very different kind of pain.

That pain, combined with her story, scared her in a number of ways—mostly because Emma felt she was starting to truly understand Regina. It was so unusual for Emma to feel like she truly understood anyone who wasn't from the pages of a book that she had no idea how to react—not even David, or Mary Margaret for that matter, was someone Emma could find much in common with and yet this strange Queen was somehow beginning to strike her as a kindred spirit.

"I suppose this does tie in to something else I wished to speak with you about."

Regina's voice cut through her musings and Emma looked at her curiously.

"I wish to…apologize for my actions, earlier this evening. I did not mean for my temper to get such a tight grip of me." Regina was once more addressing the fireplace instead of the woman kneeling beside her. "It is a difficult day for me," she seemed to be prying the words out of herself, "And I have the unfortunate habit of taking that out on others. Although," she could not resist adding, "You should not have been in the West Wing—under any circumstances." She turned to look at Emma, her catlike face still managing to look stern and disapproving.

Emma had the good decency to look ashamed at that. "Yeah, well. I was mad—I do stupid things when I'm mad. I didn't mean to upset you," she rushed to explain, "Not really. I just… You said I could go anywhere else, which is enough to make me ridiculously curious, and then I got mad and I just couldn't help myself. I'm sorry."

Regina stared at her, the blonde meeting her eyes straight on—something few people had done even before she'd been made into a beast. Slowly she nodded, "They are my private rooms and no one is allowed in them, you need to respect that."

Emma nodded, her sheepish look sobering, "I will."

"Good. The apple tree is really what made me react so violently," Regina felt surprisingly talkative—so rarely did anyone ever attempt to make conversation with her that she found she was unused it, it was why their dinners were so awkward. She found the excitement of the evening had made her tired and less guarded than normal—and rather disinclined to care that she was as well.

"Why?" Emma asked, beginning to bandage her right arm, hoping that talking would distract the Queen from the pain her arms must be causing her.

"It is has been in my possession since I was a little girl and has weathered the many storms of my life with me. However, more than that, the curse of this place is anchored to it."

Emma looked up in surprise, what did that mean?

Regina saw the question in the blonde's clear eyes and answered without being asked. "Because of its connection to me, Blue chose to…attach the curse to it—making them linked. It's fruit is like it always was except that now it fruits all year round. Plucking an apple from it though, instead of waiting for it to fall on its own, would be a very bad idea. I was unaware of the consequences myself originally and the effects were rather disastrous. And that was in the beginning when the curse was strong. Now with so many years gone by, the tree slowly producing less and less fruit…"

"Shouldn't the curse weakening be a _good_ thing?"

"No, not in this case. The castle is now completely intertwined with the curse—one cannot survive without the other."

"Oh…" Emma finished up and leaned back on her heels, unsure of how to respond to what she had learned.

The look on Regina's face was particularly grave. She slowly shook her head, "No matter. It is none of your concern," Emma for once took that not as offense or dismissive of her personally, but merely the Queen's way of saying it was her problem alone. "Can I trust you to not touch it, even if you for some reason feel the suicidal urge to venture into my private wing once more?"

It was a serious question, but this time Emma believed she might see something in the witch's purple eyes that spoke of a strange, but mischievous humor. "Yes, ma'am," she answered cheekily. "And you're all patched up for now."

"Oh." Regina looked down in surprise to see that both of her arms had been rather expertly bandaged. This time, Emma could practically _see_ Regina put on her regal mask and it was that moment it truly sunk in that it was in fact a mask. That there was a real woman under it. Regina's face closed, "I appreciated your assistance with this matter."

Emma appeared as unable to take thanks as Regina was able to accept help for the blonde shrugged and looked away. "Wouldn't have happened if I hadn't tried to run away."

"That is true," Regina tapped a finger to her chin in mock contemplation, this time there was definitely a teasing glint in her eye. "See that it doesn't happen again, Miss Swan."

Emma rolled her eyes; yeah, any plans for running away to be killed by demonic wolves had been thoroughly squashed.

"Good night," Regina said. And for once Regina waited for Emma to echo the farewell before disappearing.

-/-

A/N: I'm gonna try and post the next chapters sooner, but I don't wanna promise anything. I will say that I will definitely not forget or abandon this story under any circumstances. Thanks for being patient.

Thanks for reading.


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